British Prime Minister David Cameron made a public admission of regret over Britain’s phone-hacking scandal on Wednesday, saying with hindsight he would not have hired a former tabloid editor as his media chief.
As media mogul Rupert Murdoch wrapped up a turbulent visit to Britain, Cameron made a statement during a stormy emergency session of parliament defending his original decision to employ former News of the World editor Andy Coulson.
However, a day after cutting short a trip to Africa to confront the crisis, the Conservative leader conceded he would not have employed Coulson had he been able to predict the furor of recent weeks.
Coulson resigned as Downing Street communications director in January. He was arrested on July 8 on suspicion of phone hacking and paying police for information, but denied any wrongdoing.
However, Cameron refused to cut Coulson loose, telling lawmakers: “I have an old-fashioned view about innocent until proven guilty, but if it turns out I have been lied to that would be a moment for a profound apology.”
Opposition Labour Party leader Ed Miliband demanded a full apology from Cameron.
The scandal has so far forced Murdoch to close down the News of the World, claimed the jobs of two of his top aides, and has rocked his global News Corporation empire while also forcing two senior British policemen to resign.
Murdoch, now a US citizen, flew out of Britain on his private jet on Wednesday after an 11-day visit during which lawmakers grilled him on what he termed the “most humble day of my life.”
A law firm banned by News International from responding to claims it sat on evidence of widespread wrongdoing at the media giant was on Wednesday authorized to talk to police and lawmakers.
Harbottle & Lewis held hundreds of internal e-mails from the News of the World after being hired by News International to fight a case of wrongful dismissal brought by former reporter Clive Goodman, who was jailed for hacking in 2007.
Speaker of the British House of Commons John Bercow announced an inquiry into how a protester was able to attack Murdoch with a foam-filled “custard pie” at the parliamentary hearing on Tuesday, at which Murdoch’s son James was also questioned.
The Murdoch-owned Sun newspaper praised his “plucky” Chinese-born wife, Wendi Deng, for hitting his alleged assailant, while China’s huge online community hailed the “Tiger mother” for her actions.
Police on Wednesday charged Jonathan May-Bowles, 26, over the attack.
It was Cameron’s turn to take the heat over the controversy on Wednesday.
He admitted that another arrested former executive of the paper, Neil Wallis, may have advised Coulson before last year’s general election, but said the Conservative party had not paid him.
The prime minister also played down his friendship with Rebekah Brooks, who until last week was head of News International, the mogul’s British newspaper arm.
Earlier on Wednesday lawmakers released a report criticizing attempts by News International to “thwart” phone hacking investigations and blasting a “catalogue of failures” by police.
The scandal first emerged in 2006 with the conviction of a former News of the World journalist and a private investigator for hacking the phones of members of the royal family.
However, evidence that the practice was widespread lay untouched until the investigation was reopened in January and the row exploded this month when it emerged that the phone of a murdered teenager, Milly Dowler, was also hacked.
Scotland Yard said on Wednesday it was boosting the investigation team from 45 officers to 60.
British Parliamentary Home Affairs Committee chairman Keith Vaz said: “This is excellent news. The extra resources will assist to help move things along much more quickly.”
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