Cameron will attend Leveson Inquiry if asked, No 10 confirms

David Cameron will attend the Leveson Inquiry into press standards if summoned, Downing Street has said.

Responding to reports that Lord Justice Leveson is “99.9 per cent” certain to call Mr Cameron for questioning under oath about his dealings with senior media executives and press baron Rupert Murdoch, a No 10 spokeswoman said: “A request has not yet been received. If asked, the Prime Minister would of course attend.”

Former PM Gordon Brown and Labour’s current leader Ed Miliband are also expected to appear, the Times said.

A Leveson Inquiry source told the newspaper the final decision on which politicians to invite had not yet been made but added: “I can’t see how you can look at the relationship between the press and politicians without talking to top politicians, including the Prime Minister, the previous prime minister and the Leader of the Opposition.”

The newspaper suggests Mr Cameron is likely to be called after the local elections in May.

It is expected questioning will focus on his decision to employ Andy Coulson, the former editor of the defunct News of the World, who quit as Downing Street’s director of communications amid continued pressure about phone hacking.

Prime Minister Cameron set up the inquiry last July after revelations that the News of the World commissioned a private detective to hack murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler’s phone after she disappeared in 2002.

SAM MARSDEN