LONDON — U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron’s director of communications resigned Friday following ongoing coverage of a phone-hacking scandal at one of Britain’s sauciest tabloids.
The aide, Andy Coulson, had edited News of the World, Britain’s biggest-selling Sunday newspaper, until 2007 and shortly after was hired by Cameron.
“Unfortunately, continued coverage of events connected to my old job at the News of the World has made it difficult for me to give the 110 percent needed in this role,” Coulson said in a statement.
The resignation is a blow for Cameron, who had repeatedly backed Coulson against calls for his resignation, saying that everyone deserved a “second chance.”
Rupert Murdoch’s News of the World is one of Britain’s most raucous tabloids. In early 2007, the paper’s royal correspondent, Clive Goodman, and private investigator Glenn Mulcaire were found guilty of intercepting phone messages from Prince William, among others.
Coulson, 43, has denied knowledge of illegal activities, but he left the paper saying he took responsibility for what happened on his watch. The Washington Post
