David Cameron was under mounting pressure today as senior Labour figures called for him to sack his communications chief, Andy Coulson. According to claims made by the Guardian, Coulson whilst News of the World editor was responsible for presiding over a programme of phone-hacking that aimed to ensnare celebrities and politicians including Gwyneth Paltrow and Cabinet Office Minister Tessa Jowell.
"David Cameron, the police and the Press Complaints Commission all have questions to answer in relation to today's Guardian revelations” wrote Culture Secretary Ben Bradshaw in a post on Twitter.
On Radio 4's Today programme, former Home Secretary Charles Clarke said: "I think that David Cameron has to sack Andy Coulson because his denial [of involvement] is very narrow in the extreme. I think David Cameron himself has to be much clearer about the situation."
Former Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott, an alleged phone-hacking target, joined the calls the Coulson to go. On his blog he presented Cameron with a stark choice: "This really does call Cameron's judgement into question in hiring Coulson. The question Cameron must answer is: 'Do you back him or sack him?'."
Cameron himself remained firm in support of Coulson. He told reporters outside his home: 'It's wrong for newspapers to breach people's privacy with no justification. That is why Andy Coulson resigned as editor of the News of the World two and a half years ago. Of course I knew about that resignation before offering him the job. But I believe in giving people a second chance. As director of communications for the Conservatives he does an excellent job in a proper, upright way at all times.”
Cameron's endorsement of Coulson is unlikely to relieve pressure on the ex-editor, however. Both the Metropolitan Police and Press Complaints Commission have said that they will investigate the allegations. Scotland Yard assistant commissioner John Yates is due to report back on his findings today.
If substantiated, the Guardian's claims could have widespread repercussions across Rupert Murdoch's News International group, which owns the News of the World. In addition to allegations relating to Coulson's involvement in phone-tapping, the newspaper has also suggested that the media group paid out more than £1 million across different lawsuits in order to hush-up accusations of illegal activity. The News of the World's former Royal Editor, Clive Goodman, was jailed for four months in 2007, for bugging phones belonging to the Royal Family. However, the News of the World have always maintained that Goodman was acting alone.
