Cameron admits regret over Coulson No 10 job

As Scotland Yard revealed it was drafting extra officers into its inquiry, the Prime Minister admitted for the first time that he regretted appointing former News of the World editor Mr Coulson and taking him to Downing Street in light of wrongdoing at the newspaper.

In a dramatic House of Commons statement, Mr Cameron said he took responsibility for employing Mr Coulson, who was arrested last week by police investigating phone hacking and allegations of illegal payments to officers, and said he still believed in “innocent before proven guilty”.

He accepted he would have to make a “profound apology” if it was proven that Mr Coulson lied to him. He added: “People will, of course, make judgments about it. Of course, I regret and I am extremely sorry for the furore it has caused. “With 20-20 hindsight and all that has followed, I would not have offered him the job and I expect that he wouldn’t have taken it. But you don’t make decisions in hindsight, you make them in the present. You live and you learn and, believe you me, I have learnt.”

Last night Deputy Assistant Commissioner Sue Akers revealed that the number of officers working on the inquiry would increase from 45 to 60 after MPs called on the Government to provide more funds for Operation Weeting. She said the followed a “surge of inquiries and requests for assistance from the public and solicitors”.