London: Prime Minister David Cameron cut his trade mission to Africa to two days from four on Monday as pressure mounted at home for him to take control of the escalating phone-hacking scandal.
Cameron’s spokesman said the Conservative Party leader decided at the end of last week to shorten the visit to two days.
The spokesman would not explicitly link the shortening of the trip with the phone-hacking affair that on Sunday led to the resignation of Britain’s most senior police officer, Paul Stephenson.
Asked why he had decided to continue with the visit to South Africa and Nigeria, the spokesman said Cameron had a number of roles and responsibilities: ”One of them is the economy” and promoting British business, he said. An aide added that Cameron was ”very busy”.
Cameron will be joined on the trade visit by business leaders including Barclays Chief Executive Bob Diamond.
Global concern over hacking
With politicians from Australia to the United States demanding to know if similar abuses occurred elsewhere in Murdoch’s global media business, the 80-year-old has been forced on the defensive and the position of his son James as heir-apparent has been called into question.
Brooks and Rupert and James Murdoch are due to be questioned by parliament on Tuesday.
But Brooks’s spokesman said her arrest might cast doubt on whether she could appear before politicians.
”Anything that will be said at the select committee hearing could have implications for the police inquiry,” said David Wilson, adding Brooks was ”shocked” by the arrest. (Agencies)