Prime Minister David Cameron sought to distance himself from the resignation of the country’s most senior policeman on Monday, saying the London force’s role in the phone-hacking scandal was quite different from that of the government.
Paul Stephenson quit as head of the Metropolitan Police on Sunday over his links to Neil Wallis, a former deputy editor at the Rupert Murdoch-owned tabloid, the News of the World. The London police force had hired Wallis as a public relations consultant.
Cameron hired one of the newspaper’s former editors, Andy Coulson, as his communications chief after he resigned in 2007 over the hacking of phones of members of the royal family.
Asked at a news conference to explain the difference between Stephenson hiring Wallis and the prime minister hiring Coulson, Cameron said: “I don’t believe the two situations are the same in any shape or form.
“There is a contrast with the situation at the Metropolitan Police, where clearly the issues have been around whether or not the investigation is being pursued properly.
More information on reuters.com
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