British Prime Minister David Cameron must 'come clean' over Murdoch ties, says Labour party

LONDON: Keeping up the heat on David Cameron, the opposition Labour on Sunday demanded that the British Prime Minister and his party "come clean" over their dealings with the family of media moghul Rupert Murdoch, as it sought "full and frank" answers to questions linked to the phone hacking scandal.

In letters to Cameron and senior ministers, Labour sought "full and frank answers" to more than 50 questions about the premier's decision to hire Andy Coulson, a former editor at the now defunct News of the World, and about Rupert Murdoch's takeover bid for pay-TV giant BSkyB.

The party wants to know what discussions key ministers had with the Murdochs about their attempt to take full control of BSkyB. The bid collapsed following intense pressure at the height of the phone-hacking revelations.

Coulson quit as Cameron's media chief in January and was arrested this month for alleged phone hacking and police bribery, which he denies. Earlier this month, Cameron defended Coulson's appointment, but admitted that in hindsight, hired him was a mistake.

Cameron has also been asked to reveal "the dates, nature and content of the discussions" he had with James or Rupert Murdoch as well as ex-News International chief executive Rebekah Brooks about the deal.

Shadow culture secretary Ivan Lewis said: "The signs are that David Cameron still does not get it.

"David Cameron and George Osborne (Chancellor of the Exchequer) treated warnings about Andy Coulson with contempt and failed to put a proper distance between themselves and senior News Corp executives during the consideration of the BSkyB bid.