PM's Hopes To End Hacking Row Dashed

David Cameron has suffered some of his toughest weeks since becoming Prime Minister as the fall-out from the hacking scandal throws a shadow over Westminster.

On Wednesday, he recalled Parliament to update the House of Commons on the Government's response.

But any hopes the Prime Minister may have had that he could draw a line under criticisms of his leadership were dashed.

Despite the steady stream of MPs getting to their feet to quiz Mr Cameron on the scandal involving the News Of The World (NOTW) allegedly hacking people's voicemail, many questions remain unanswered.

Firstly, Labour are continuing to press the Prime Minister over what discussions he had with employees of News International - which owned the now-defunct NOTW -regarding the proposed BSkyB bid.

The Prime Minister would only confirm in the debate he had had no "inappropriate conversations" - refusing to deny that any conversations had taken place.

Shortly after the Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt appeared to confirm that the discussions had happened, saying: "The discussion the Prime Minister had on the BSkyB deal were irrelevant."

Aides said that he was only talking in general, rather than about any specific conversations.

In addition, Mr Cameron does have a clear defence: he purposely distanced himself from the decision over the bid, which was left to Mr Hunt.

But Labour is unwilling to let the matter drop - they have already asked Mr Cameron to provide the dates and details of any discussions with News International regarding the BSkyB bid.

Questions also remain over why Andy Coulson - the former NOTW editor who was arrested earlier this year - was only given the most basic security clearance when he went to work at Downing Street.

Reports claim Mr Coulson's "standard-level" security vetting was two levels below his predecessor Alistair Campbell.

Labour is now asking if the reason for the lower-level clearance was to prevent information about Mr Coulson's past coming to light.

Another line of attack for the opposition could be the role of the Chancellor George Osborne.

The former News International chief executive Rebekah Brooks told the Culture, Media and Sport Committee that it was Mr Osborne who recommended Mr Coulson for the job of the Prime Minister's communications chief.

The spotlight could now turn to the relationship between Mr Coulson and Mr Osborne.

Finally, questions remain surrounding the behaviour of other papers.

It has been confirmed the police investigation into hacking - Operation Weeting - has widened its inquiry to include newspapers other than the NOTW.

The Information Commissioner's Office handed over details of Operation Motorman three months ago, which examines the trade in personal data.

It reveals - unsurprisingly - that the NOTW was not the only newspaper who used the services of private investigators and blaggers to obtain personal information, like addresses and telephone numbers.

The Daily Mail and Mirror Group newspapers are also heavily implicated.