Pressure on Cameron over phone hacking

David Cameron is facing calls to make a statement in Parliament about accusations that his director of communications, Andy Coulson, was involved in phone hacking.

Last night a Channel 4 Dispatches programme contained allegations by a former News International executive, that Mr Coulson, a former News of the World editor, listened to some of the illegally obtained messages himself. This allegation is contrary to what Mr Coulson told the Media and Culture Select Committee last year.

In a letter to the Prime Minister, the Labour MP Tom Watson wrote: "If a government minister were to be the subject of similar allegations, they would be forced to stand down immediately while an investigation is carried out... You should consider a similar course of action with regards to Mr Coulson's conduct. I am sure you would agree misleading a parliamentary committee of the House of Commons is a very serious matter and therefore these allegations need to be investigated."