Murray recalled how he went into the room next to Jackson's bedroom to make telephone calls while the star lay dying - and justified not telling police about having given him propofol, as "I did not think it was important."
The doctor's previously unheard comments were made to British journalist Steve Hewlett and aired on Channel 4 immediately before the showing of a controversial documentary charting the singer's demise.
Murray, 58, claimed Jackson had requested "milk" - his slang term for propofol - at 10:40 am on June 25, 2009, to help him sleep after a restless night.
In accounting for the one hour and 40 minutes between administering the drug and emergency services being called, Murray said he had sat with Jackson, checking his vital signs until he believed the effects had worn off, before moving to the adjacent room at 11:20 am.
Murray did not inform police that Jackson had taken the drug because "they never asked me" and "I did not think it was important."
The doctor also accepted he had made a mistake in not keeping medical notes on Jackson, but argued this failure "was not responsible for his death".
The managers of Jackson's estate on Wednesday condemned as "reprehensible" the documentary "The Man Who Killed Michael Jackson", shown in Britain immediately after the interview was broadcast.
Jackson's executors demanded US broadcaster MSNBC withdraw plans to screen the program - along with an interview in which Murray quotes Jackson's last words in 2009 as "begging" for propofol. (AFP)
