Jeremy Clarkson has given an insider's account of a Christmas party held at the home of former News International chief executive Rebekah Brooks that was attended by David Cameron.

Speaking yesterday, the Top Gear presenter revealed that James Murdoch and his father, the News Corp chairman Rupert, were also at the event, reports The Daily Telegraph.

The party was held on December 23 last year, less than 48 hours after the business secretary Vince Cable was stripped of his power to decide the fate of News Corp's takeover of Sky after saying that he had "declared war" on Rupert Murdoch.

Clarkson's decision to discuss the event forced Downing Street to reveal for the first time that the prime minister was also in attendance. The TV presenter played down the significance of the meeting, but still gave a fascinating insight into the relationship between all these powerful people.

"I've kept quiet about this for six months but I feel the time is right to tell all. What Rebekah and Cameron talked about most of all - and I'm a trained journalist so I understand the need to get these things right - is sausage rolls," said Clarkson.

"We were planning a big walk with all our kids over Christmas and thought it might be a good idea to build a fire in my woods and stop off for a picnic. Rebekah was worried about what we'd eat. Cameron thought sausage rolls would be nice. My wife said she'd get some."

Clarkson said that he spent the Christmas party debating with James Murdoch, the chairman of News International and Sky, about the environment.

"James was sitting opposite me and we spent most of the night arguing about the environment. He likes it and I don't agree. The row only ended when Samantha Cameron suddenly remembered that she'd like 400 of my cigarettes.

"In other words, it was like a million other Christmas-time dinners being held in a million other houses all over the world that day. Sky was not mentioned. Nor was phone hacking.

"And it was the same story the next time we all met. That time, we played tennis. You might call this disgustingly middle-class. And I won't argue with you. But louche? Amoral? Corrupt? No."

Just 48 hours before the party, Cameron handed the power to arbitrate over the Sky takeover to the culture secretary Jeremy Hunt. The move was well received in the City, sending Sky's share price soaring upwards as investors bet that Rupert Murdoch would complete the deal.

However, the News Corp chairman last week decided to withdraw the Sky bid following cross-party pressure from MPs in the wake of the phone hacking scandal at the News of the World.

Clarkson mocked any suggestion that the Christmas party was anything other than a social get-together.

"We began with a cocktail made from crushed socialists and after we'd discussed how the trade union movement could be smashed and how News Corp should be allowed to take control of the BBC, Rupert Murdoch joined us on a live video feed from his private volcano, stroking a white cat," he added.

Last Friday, the Cabinet Office published information showing that Cameron has met Rupert Murdoch's executives on 26 occasions since he entered Downing Street last May.

This included two meetings in December with Brooks, who resigned as News International chief executive last week, both described as "social".

There is increasing pressure on Cameron over his close relationship with the Murdoch media empire, along with his decision to hire Andy Coulson, the former News of the World editor who was arrested this month as part of the police investigation into phone hacking.

Discussing the Christmas party, a government source told The Daily Telegraph: "It is extraordinary that just at the point where... a government minister (Cable) had nearly lost his job because he suggested he was at war with Rupert Murdoch, David Cameron could not see anything wrong with a lunch with the major players. There is an arrogance about all this – 'how dare you challenge my integrity."

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