Fair cop

The sudden departures of Sir Paul Stephenson, the Met Commissioner, and John Yates, who was heading the latest hacking inquiry, removes some of the pressure on them and piles it on to Mr Cameron. While the two resignations create confusion in the short-term, they became inevitable once it was known how close the officers had got to Rupert Murdoch’s media empire.

Sir Paul was foolish to hire Neil Wallis, a former deputy editor of the News of the World dubbed the Wolfman, and alarm bells should have rung because his tenure coincided with that of Andy Coulson, who quit over the scandal. Mr Yates, meanwhile, should not have become so close to Mr Wallis, and that is why questions have been raised over his integrity.

Boris Johnson has also been severely undermined, fewer than three years after a City Hall coup drove out Sir Ian Blair over a different set of problems. Having previously dismissed, as Labour-driven “codswallop”, credible claims that hacking went beyond a single reporter, the London Mayor yesterday offered an unconvincing explanation of why he took this view.

Mr Cameron has also been immensely damaged. He should not have given a job to Mr Coulson before the election, should not have taken him into Government and should not have entertained him at Chequers after his departure. The recall of Parliament tomorrow is a very belated recognition of crises in the police and the media and of panic in Government. Mr Cameron needs to apologise for his mistakes, or it could be his head on the chopping block next time.