Labour MPs gave Prime Minister David Cameron a battering on Wednesday as a rising tide of Murdoch sleaze engulfed his government.
Cries of "resign" greeted Mr Cameron and his damaged Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt as they wriggled in the Commons.
However it was a hapless political adviser to Mr Hunt who became the first casualty on Wednesday following damning evidence of collusion with Murdoch's News Corporation over the BSkyB takeover bid.
The Culture Secretary's special adviser Adam Smith resigned after the Murdoch empire released to the Leveson inquiry a damaging dossier of e-mails and texts between the ministry and News Corporation.
Mr Cameron tried to brazen his way through the mire, despite James Murdoch's statement at the inquiry that he had a brief discussion with the PM about the BSkyB bid - contradicting Cameron's repeated denials.
The PM even proclaimed that the Culture Secretary "has my full support."
Labour MP Dennis Skinner caused uproar by calling for the resignation of both Cameron and Chancellor George Osborne.
Referring to the resignation of Mr Smith, the Bolsover MP said it showed that "when posh boys are in trouble they sack the servants."
The Culture Secretary faced barracking as he told MPs that Mr Smith's resignation "is something of huge regret to me." Mr Smith was a person of great integrity and decency, he insisted.
Mr Hunt repeatedly dodged Labour MPs' demands to state whether he personally decided to appoint Mr Smith as the point of contact with News Corporation.
The shameless minister declared: "The idea that I was backing this bid is laughable."
Labour MP and anti-Murdoch campaigner Tom Watson asked incredulously if Mr Hunt was "seriously trying to convince the nation that these incriminating e-mails and texts are all the work of a single rogue adviser."
Labour leader Ed Miliband demanded that Mr Hunt must resign. "It beggars belief that the Prime Minister could defend the culture secretary," he said.
Mr Miliband said "the shadow of sleaze will hang over this government" while Mr Cameron refused to come clean about meetings between himself, Chancellor Osborne and Mr Murdoch.
If you appreciated this article then please consider donating to the Morning Star's Fighting Fund to ensure we can keep developing your paper.
Foreign Minister Alistair Burt's admission that the Cameron government has "supported" a survey of attitudes to US drone strikes in Pakistan's tribal areas amounts to a tacit admission of British involvement.
As Britain faces a new housing crisis we can learn from an occasion when tenants banded together to beat their landlord - and won new council housing
Iain Duncan Smith's brainchild came into force at the end of last month. It's bad news for almost everyone
Printable
Email