Good morning, and welcome to what promises to be another extremely fast-moving day for News Corporation, the government, and the wider media landscape. With yesterday marking the end of the News of the World, focus now turns to what is arguably the reason News Corp sacrificed the 168-year-old newspaper: its hoped-for takover of the BSkyB broadcasting network.

Here are the latest developments:

• The BSkyB bid could be delayed for some months or even derailed altogether after it emerged that the culture secretary, Jeremy Hunt, plans to seek new advice from Ofcom, the media regulator, and the Office of Fair Trading, in the light of the hacking revelations and the News of the World's demise. This could well see the deal referred after all to the Competition Commission. Hunt reportedly plans to write to the two bodies today.

• News International's chief executive, Rebekah Brooks, the former NoW editor, could be interviewed by police as a witness over new hacking revelations, according to a series of reports.

• Les Hinton, for many years Rupert Murdoch's righthand man, could also be quizzed over what he knew.

• Nick Clegg, the deputy prime minister, will meet the mother and sister of Milly Dowler this morning. The revelation that the murdered schoolgirl's mobile phone was hacked by the NoW while she was missing began the wave of public revulsion that saw the paper closed.

There's been an inevitable reaction to the news of Hunt's likely referral move – my colleague Graeme Wearden reports that BSkyB investors were rushing to sell their shares this morning.

Shares in BSkyB tumbled again on Monday when trading began, falling 7% to as low as 697p. The shares had closed at 750p on Friday, but were worth 850p a week ago - before this crisis began. At this morning's price, around £2.2bn has been wiped off the value of the broadcaster. Rupert Murdoch had originally offered to pay £7 per share for BSkyB, but had been facing calls to raise the bid to at least £8.50 and possibly £11 per share. This had encouraged many speculators to pile into the company, expecting a guaranteed profit. Today, though,

traders are struggling to calculate whether the bid will be delayed, or blocked altogether.

Even if Hunt's actions do not scupper the BSkyB deal, then the House of Commons still could. According to a leading Liberal Democrat MP speaking this morning, many of his colleagues plan to support a Labour-inspired motion in the chamber on Wednesday, calling for the bid to be put on ice pending any police investigation into actions at the News of the World.

The Lib Dem president, the Cumbria MP Tim Farron, was speaking on BBC Radio 4's Today programme:

If a legally worded motion comes to the house opposing a further Murdoch takeover of BSkyB I can't see how Liberal Democrats would vote against that. It is no secret that Liberal Democrats have always opposed the lack of plurality in our media market, and in particular have felt that Rupert Murdoch's influence on British politics through the media has been nefarious. We've thought that for decades.

Before we delve further into today's developments, a brief look at what's been aired in today's papers, starting with this one:

• The head of the Metropolitan police, Sir Paul Stephenson, is expected this week to apologise publicly for "institutional" failures in his force's investigation of phone hacking.

• Employment specialists believe staffed sacked by the NoW who can't find new jobs and fear their professional reputations have been damaged could sue News International.

• Caroline Davies has been to the Cotswold village in the unwelcome glare of publicity as the venue for neighbourly cosying up by Rebekah Brooks and David Cameron. One local's verdict? "Chipping Norton will get over it."

• Roy Greenslade takes a sceptical look at the somewhat sentimental tone struck by yesterday's final News of the World, a subject also considered by Charlie Brooker.

More on Jeremy Hunt's letter. My colleague, Dan Sabbagh, has passed me confirmation from Hunt's department about the three points he would like Ofcom and the OFT to look into. It reads:

1. The closure of the News of the World in the last week is a significant change to the media landscape. I would be grateful if you could indicate whether this development (and /or the events surrounding it) gives you any additional concerns in respect of plurality over and above those raised in your initial report to me on this matter received on 31 December 2010. 2. I am aware of your [Ofcom's] letter on Friday to John Whittingdale MP in relation to any proposed fit and proper persons test and would be grateful if you could keep me informed of progress. In particular I would be grateful if you could clarify whether in your view, your

current consideration or any potential future decision in relation to the fit and proper persons test might have an impact on the merger and my decision on media plurality or on the proposed undertakings in lieu. 3. Given the well-publicised matters involving the News of the World in the past week that led to its closure, I would be grateful if you could let me know whether you consider that any new information that has come to light causes you to reconsider any part of your previous advice to me including your confidence in the credibility, sustainability or practicalities of the undertakings offered by News Corporation.

My colleague Patrick Wintour sends in his view of Jeremy Hunt's move:

The decision by Jeremy Hunt, the culture secretary, to write to Ofcom asking it to review the News Corporation bid is the first sign that the government is looking for a way to block the takeover. It will also give the government a defensible political position on Wednesday's Commons vote over whether the bid should be blocked. Ed Miliband is proposing the Commons vote to block the takeover, although the legal status of such a vote is unclear. The Conservatives do not want to be seen defending Rupert Murdoch in the current climate. Hunt has two legitimate reasons to ask Ofcom to re-examine the status of the bid for BSkyB. The disappearance of the News of the World arguably changes News International's share of the UK newspaper market. In practice most people expect Murdoch to produce a Sunday red-top tabloid in the shape of a Sunday Sun. At the least a new uncertainty has been injected into the equation. Second, and potentially more damaging to NI, Hunt is to ask whether the assurances given by Murdoch about the editorial independence of Sky News need to be viewed in a new light given that senior NI figures appear to have been dishonest in their answers to a parliamentary select committee, the police and the Press Complaints Commission, as well as to the wider public. That accusation has now been levelled by the chairman of the culture select committee, John Whittingdale, the Metropolitan police assistant commissioner John Yates, and the chairman of the PCC, Lady Buscombe. Most of the people inside NI that stand accused do not yet face disciplinary proceedings. In that context it is legitimate for Hunt to ask whether this is an organisation that is fit and proper to hold a broadcasting licence. In practice the OFT is incapable of giving a clear answer to the Hunt letter immediately, but it allows Hunt to say in Wednesday's debate that he realises wide long-term issues have now been raised, and the issue is no longer one of narrow plurality.

As widely predicted, yesterday's final News of the World appears to have sold extremely well. Unofficial sales figures say that all 4.5m copies printed were sold the paper's biggest circulation since 1998.

My colleague Hélène Mulholland sends this update:

John Whittingdale, the Conservative chair of the culture select committee, has joined calls for the Rupert Murdoch's BSkyB takeover bid to be put on hold. Whittingdale told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme that given the "poisonous" atmosphere it would be difficult for the takeover to proceed. "The best thing would be if it could be put on hold until we have a much clearer idea of who knew what, who was responsible," he said. "It could be a long time, but I'm not sure it's in News International or News Corp's interest to proceed in the present climate. Now whether or not they will be considering putting it on hold or whether or not there is a legal mechanism - that's something I assume the OFT and Ofcom will advise - remains to be seen."

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Over on his Politics blog, Andrew Sparrow points out that Alex DeGroote, an analyst at Panmure Gordon stockbrokers, has said he reckons there is now only a 10% chance of the BSkyB deal going through.

On Friday we cut our probability of the deal going ahead to 50:50 from 90:10 in favour. This seems very optimistic now. Our new assessment is 10:90 in favour. In other words, we believe the deal is all but dead.

Now, as promised a while ago, some snippets from the rest of today's newspapers:

• The Daily Telegraph details what it describes as the "ticking time bomb" News International emails about a 2007 internal inquiry report into phone hacking. Les Hinton – Rupert Murdoch's closest adviser, former executive chairman of News International and current CEO of Murdoch's Dow Jones – faces questions over whether he saw this report, which found evidence that phone hacking was more widespread than admitted by the company, before he testified to a parliamentary committee that the practice was limited to a single reporter. The Guardian has more here.

• Behind its paywall, the Times says that the News of the World's rivals, notably the Sunday Mirror and Mail on Sunday, hope to cash in on the paper's demise, notwithstanding any plans that may or may not exist for a Sunday edition of the Sun.

• The Daily Mail has decided it doesn't like celebrities such as Steve Coogan and Hugh Grant lecturing the print media on morals. It carries a frankly odd news article digging up old anecdotes about supposed scandal in Coogan's personal life. Melanie Phillips is, as you might expect, not happy either at the idea of the likes of Coogan and Hugh Grant taking a moral stance.

• After last week's flurry of concern at the Sun (also owned by News International), the paper dialled down its coverage today, with an article emphasising yesterday's bumper sales for the NoW and a Trevor Kavanagh lament for the paper, which criticises the BBC for covering the story too fully. The article on the NoW's sales figures did admit that the paper was "shut down by owners News International in the wake of the phone hacking scandal", adding later: "Mr Murdoch, 80, has flown in from the US to oversee NI's response to allegations of widespread illegal phone-hacking by former News of the World journalists." It goes on:

At least 12 people including nine journalists and three policemen are said to be facing jail over phone hacking and illegal payments to officers. Yesterday it emerged that internal NI memos dating back to 2007 and indicating widespread hacking at the News of the World, have been handed to Scotland Yard. The notes were written shortly after News of the World royal editor Clive Goodman and private investigator Glenn Mulcaire were jailed for phone hacking. At the time the pair were said to be the only ones involved. Ms Brooks and James Murdoch were made aware of the memos only relatively recently.

Breaking: Mark Lewis, the solicitor for Milly Dowler's family, has said Rebekah Brooks should step down.

Brooks should "take editorial responsibility" since she was editor of the News of the World at the time Milly's phone was hacked in 2002, Lewis says.

Brian Paddick, formerly of the Metropolitan police and a former Lib Dem candidate for mayor of London, is speaking now - calling for a public inquiry.

Mark Lewis also represents many other phone hacking victims, and has been speaking at Whitehall following a meeting between the Dowler family and the deputy prime minister, Nick Clegg. Asked about the family's view on Rebekah Brooks, Lewis said:

Their position is that they think she should take responsibility, do the honourable thing and resign.

It's a serious blow to Brooks's hopes of hanging on to her job as chief executive for News International.

Also meeting Clegg were representatives from the Hacked Off group, which has been campaigning over the issue, and the former senior London police officer, Brian Paddick. Martin Moore from the Media Standards Trust, who was also at the meeting, said they same group will meet Ed Miliband tomorrow and David Cameron on Wednesday.

However, the main focus was on the Dowler family view, as expressed by Lewis. He said the family believed Clegg had "a genuine desire for change" and planned to discuss their views with Miliband and Cameron. He said on their behalf:

It is sad that it has taken such a tragedy as theirs to bring this out into the open. Their hope is that this will at least help other families to not have to go through what they have gone through. They believe it is vital that the people responsible will be held to account. There are very senior people who have to take responsibility for what happened in their media organisation.

One of the historic curiosities of the NoW's demise has been the resurrection on Twitter of the curious tale of Charles Begley. He was the paper's bespectacled, boyish-looking reporter who then-editor Rebekah Brooks made "Harry Potter correspondent" ahead of the release of the first film about the wizard in 2001, a task that involved him changing his name by deed poll and being ordered to permanently dress in robes and a hat. Begley finally objected after Brooks allegedly ordered him to don the outfit immediately after the September 11 attacks. Here's a Guardian account from the the time, and a Daily Telegraph piece detailing phone transcripts about Begley's worries.

Another big update:

Nick Clegg is now urging News Corporation to drop its bid for BSkyB altogether.

Andrew Sparrow has more on Nick Clegg's urging of News Corporation to drop its bid for BSkyB altogether. Rupert Murdoch should do "the decent thing" and reconsider the bid, he says. "Reconsider" is a euphemism for abandon. Until now, Liberal Democrats have just been calling for a pause. This means that the Lib Dems - and the coalition as a whole, because Clegg is deputy prime minister - have now trumped Labour, who have just been calling for the bid to be delayed.

Comments are now open on this story.

Here's Nick Clegg's full appeal to Rupert Murdoch about the BSkyB deal:

Do the decent and sensible thing, and reconsider, think again, about your bid for BSkyB.

Here's Jeremy Hunt's full letter to Ed Richards, the chief executive of Ofcom, outlining his requests for assistance regarding the BSkyB bid.

A fuller quote from Nick Clegg (left), via Andrew Sparrow:

On the BSkyB bid, Rupert Murdoch is now in town in London seeking to sort things out. I would simply say to him, look how people feel about this. Look how the country has reacted with revulsion to the revelations. So do the decent and sensible thing and reconsider, think again, about your bid for BSkyB.

Jeremy Hunt has done a pooled interview about his decision to ask Ofcom to re-examine the status of the News Corp bid for BSkyB. The culture secretary is sticking doggedly to his quasi-legal position and insisting there is no politics involved, despite calling the phone hacking claims "appalling" and "barrel-scraping". Hunt said:

The question is whether there are things there relevant to the decision I have to take, which is a merger decision, and what I have to look at is the concentration of media ownership, and that's what I want to seek independent advice on ... Right from the start I've taken the view that the only way to approach it is to be fair and to seek independent advice, which I publish and so people can see how I am making my decision at every stage ... I want to continue that tradition and that's why today I'm asking for further advice. New things have come to light in the last week and I want to know whether those should have a bearing on the decision I take.

Ed Miliband is speaking about the News International situation now.

The BBC's Robert Peston is claiming 2007 emails show that the NoW was buying the contact details of the royal family and their family and friends from a royal protection officer.

Peston says the emails were reviewed by NI executives at the time when Clive Goodman, the former royal editor, was contesting his dismissal after being convicted of hacking. But they were not passed to the police in 2007.

Here's Andrew Sparrow on Jeremy Hunt's pooled interview:

Jeremy Hunt, the culture secretary, has also given an interview to the BBC about his decision this morning to ask Ofcom and the Office of Fair Trading for advice on whether there are new grounds for blocking the News Corporation bid for BSkyB. Here are the key points. • Hunt said Ofcom and the Office of Fair Trading did not have to reply quickly. He was not giving them a time limit, he said. "I do not want them to make a rushed decision. I want them to take as long as they need." • Hunt said the new revelations that had come out about the News of the World were "stomach churning". "You would not be human if you were not totally appalled with some of the revelations that have come to light. They are just stomach churning." • He said he wanted to give the public confidence that he was dealing with the issue "objectively, fairly and impartially". • He said politicians had been "slow off the mark" to respond to the concerns about News International.

Students at the UK's largest arts university are stepping up the pressure on senior academics to revoke the honorary fellowship they awarded Rebekah Brooks last year for "outstanding contribution to journalism", Jessica Shepherd writes.

A statement from the University of the Arts's outgoing student union president, Louis Hartnoll, and incoming president, Alexander Rose, calls for "swift and decisive action" from the university over the next 48 hours. Many of the university's graduates will work in journalism and the media, they say, and failing to withdraw the fellowship would "denigrate their success". A Facebook group calling for the withdrawal of the fellowship has more than 600 members. It comes after academics, staff and students at the university wrote to demand the withdrawal of the fellowship

Polly Curtis has more on Nick Clegg's dramatic intervention in the News Corp bid for BSkyB. The deputy prime minister this morning called on Rupert Murdoch to "do the decent thing" and drop the deal.

He said Murdoch should look at the public revulsion towards allegations about phone hacking, payments to police and an "industrial scale" cover-up at News International and reconsider his bid. It came after the deputy prime minister met the family of murdered teenager Milly Dowler, whose phone was hacked by the News of the World. The Dowler family's lawyer, Mark Lewis, also called on Rebekah Brooks, chief executive of News International, to "do the honourable thing" and quit. Clegg told the BBC: "On the BSkyB bid, Rupert Murdoch is now in town in London seeking to sort things out. I would simply say to him, look how people feel about this. Look at how the country has reacted with revulsion to the revelations. "So do the decent and sensible thing and reconsider: think again about your bid for BSkyB. "Listening to Bob, Sally and Gemma Dowler, it reminds you that it is innocent families like them who have paid a very heavy price for truly grotesque journalistic practices, which are simply beneath contempt. We owe it to the Dowlers and other innocent victims of hacking to get these inquiries right, to make sure they are really strong, [so] they can get to the bottom of what happened and make sure it never happens again." Clegg was speaking after a 50-minute meeting with the Dowler family to discuss their views on how the two inquiries the government is instigating should be carried out. The mother, father and sister of Milly Dowler – whose phone was hacked by investigators working for the News of the World in the days after she went missing – pushed Clegg to hold broad inquiries, not just restricted to the practices at the News of the World or the allegations of press payments to the Metropolitan police, but to other forces as well.

Ed Miliband has been back on the attack. In a speech in central London he has demanded an immediate judge-led inquiry and castigated the government over its U-turns over the BSkyB deal and David Cameron's decision to appoint Andy Coulson his director of communications. A judicial inquiry had to be called to ensure evidence was not destroyed, he said, adding:

Put simply, the government is still dragging its feet and showing it does not understand the gravity of this situation and the scale of public concern. David Cameron needs to get a move on.

On BSkyB, he castigated the government for not referring the deal to the Competition Commission immediately, saying Hunt had only written to Ofcom and the OFT to avoid defeat in Wednesday's Labour-led vote. He added: "Let me be clear – this chaos and confusion is all of the government's making."

After calling for better voluntary press regulation Miliband turned his fire on Coulson, notably claims that Cameron was warned about him before his appointment as chief media advisor:

It is imperative that David Cameron now comes clean about the increasing number of questions surround his appointment of Andy Coulson ... Unless he can explain what happened with Mr Coulson and apologise for his terrible error in appointing him, his reputation and that of his government twill be permanently tarnished.

Polly Curtis recorded the press conference Mark Lewis, the Dowler family solicitor, gave earlier.

_

Ed Miliband just wrapped up his press conference and was asked about the new BBC allegations that the News of the World had paid a royal protection officer for information about the royal family. The Labour leader said:

As these allegations and new evidence emerges hour by hour I think it casts a further cloud over that organisation [News International] and makes more untenable the bed for BSkyB.

His message to Rupert Murdoch was:

He should withdraw the bid. I don't think its conceivable under current circumstances that it will command public consent.

Here is Andrew Sparrow's take on Ed Miliband's statement on phone hacking.

• Miliband said David Cameron should make a statement in the Commons today about the affair. He implied that he had tabled an urgent question on this. (He did not say so explicitly, because John Bercow, the Speaker, normally refuses these requests if they are publicised in advance.) • He said Cameron needed to explain why he ignored warnings about Andy Coulson when he decided to give him a job in Downing Street. Miliband said the Guardian told Steve Hilton, Cameron's director of strategy, that when Coulson was editor of the News of the World he had hired Jonathan Rees, a convicted criminal. Hilton told Ed Llewellyn, Cameron's chief of staff. Miliband said Cameron needed to say if Llewellyn passed these warnings on, and, if so, why they were ignored. • He said News Corporation's bid for BSkyB should be put on hold until after the criminal investigation is over. In practice, this means for years not months. Miliband said he "won't rest" until he has ensured that this happens - implying that this is his bottom line, and that this will be what Labour demands in the motion it is tabling for Wednesday. But he did not go as far as Nick Clegg, who said the deal should be shelved for good. • He said that press self-regulation should continue but that a new self-regulatory body would have to be tougher than the Press Complaints Commission. In particular, it should have more independence from editors, it should have investigatory powers and it should have the power to force papers to public corrections, he said. • He said that the inquiry into the affair should start as soon as possible. It needed to start now to stop people destroying evidence, he claimed. At one point he suggested that he was concerned about this happening to documents held by the Conservative party.

My colleagues at the video desk have sent these clips of Rupert Murdoch, his son James, and News International chief executive Rebekah Brooks in London yesterday.

_

It's been a very busy morning so far so here is a lunchtime summary, a bit early.

• Nick Clegg, the deputy prime minister, has called on Rupert Murdoch to "do the decent thing" and drop his bid for 100% of BSkyB (see 11.21am). Clegg was speaking after a meeting with the family of murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler, whose phone was hacked by investigators working for the News of the World after she went missing. Mark Lewis, the family's solicitor, called on Rebekah Brooks to step down as chief executive of News International. She was editor of the NoW at the time.

• Ed Miliband has said David Cameron needs to explain why he ignored warnings about Andy Coulson before he gave him the job of No 10 director of communications (see 11.32am). The Labour leader also said that News Corp's bid for BSkyB should be put on hold until the criminal investigation into phone hacking at the News of the World is over. Although this could mean a delay of years, Miliband still did not go as far as Clegg. He is threatening a Commons vote on Wednesday on the BSkyB bid, which would not be legally binding but would make it almost impossible for the government not to act. An inquiry into phone-hacking should be immediate and judge-led, he said (see 11.22am). Press self-regulation should continue but be toughened up, the Labour leader said.

• Jeremy Hunt, the culture secretary, has been explaining his decision to ask Ofcom and the Office of Fair Trading for advice on whether there are new grounds for blocking the News Corporation bid for BSkyB (see 11.15am). He said the recent revelations about the News of the World were "stomach churning" and said he was not giving Ofcom or the OFT any time limit to respond. He admitted politicians had been "slow off the mark" to respond to the concerns about News International.

• The BBC is reporting that 2007 emails show that the News of the World was buying the contact details of the royal family and their family and friends from a royal protection officer (see 11.07am).

• John Whittingdale, the Conservative chair of the culture select committee, has joined calls for Murdoch's BSkyB takeover bid to be put on hold (see 9.40am).

Is the phone-hacking affair helping Labour? As Andrew Sparrow points out, the latest Sunday Times/YouGov polls shows Labour on 44%, the Tories on 35% and the Lib Dems on 8%. That's developing into a reasonably healthy lead for Labour.

A couple of other points from Ed Miliband's press conference, via Andrew Sparrow.

• Miliband said Rupert Murdoch should apologise to the victims of phone hacking. • He dismissed Lord Ashcroft's claim that Tom Baldwin, Miliband's director of strategy, commissioned a private investigator to "blag" information from a bank about an account belonging to the Conservative party when Baldwin worked for the Times. Miliband said that he had checked this out with the Times and been told that Baldwin was not in a position to commission a private investigator. "Nor did he," Miliband went on. That was the end of the matter, Miliband said.

Avaaz, the online campaign group which has attracted over 370,000 signatures for its petition to stop the BSkyB takeover by News Corporation, has welcomed the decision by the culture secretary, Jeremy Hunt, to ask Ofcom and the Office of Fair Trading for advice on whether there are new grounds for blocking the deal, Haroon Siddique reports. Avaaz campaign director Alex Wilks said:

The news that Jeremy Hunt is looking for guidance around the Murdochs is welcome. It is something that Avaaz and tens of thousands of our members have been asking Hunt to do for months. It's clear that the Murdoch's are not fit and proper and that no one in Britain wants them to be given more control over our media. Avaaz hopes this paves the way for a referral to the competition commission, which is what should have happened in February so that this deal can move no further forward.

George Michael has been tweeting almost non-stop about the News of the World and phone-hacking since Thursday, when he marked the closure of the paper with a tweet saying "today is a fantastic day for Britain". Among the singers other gems in recent days:

Good evening everyone......still basking in the fire that's been lit under News International....very tempted to go out and buy the NOTW so ... I could put it to good use, but I'm pretty sure it would leave ink on my backside! BOOBOOM! The two photographers who sat outside my house in their cars night after night for several years ... Were regularly seen with computers open on their laps. I presumed for years that i was under surveillance. In fact, one night in particular, I strolled over the road to one of them and tapped on his window ... :) and said ... :) 'I hope you like my taste in men.' Oh, nice to see there are people telling me off, that always means the press are here, which is fine by me ... ; )) Oh and check out 'Hugh Grant on Question Time'......my new hero! not my type, you understand, but still my hero

This is well worth a watch – a News of the World staff member's filmed record of the moment when the editor, Colin Myler, led his staff out of the building for the final time, to meet the assembled press.

It's notable both for the genuine warmth the staff clearly felt for Myler – contrast that with widely-reported attitudes towards Rebekah Brooks – and the dizzying view of dozens of flashguns shimmering in the darkness.

Two more self-shot films for NoW nostalgia aficionados – Myler's address to staff inside the building and the final, emotional moments on the sports desk.

Jeremy Hunt is going to address the Commons to give a statement on phone hacking this afternoon, we have just learned.

Our colleague Patrick Butler points out an interesting blog from Darren Newman, a leading employment lawyer. Using expert but self-confessedly back-of-the-envelope calculations, he works out that the summarily-dismissed News of the World staff could theoretically end up with an average of £90,000 a head in compensation, a total bill of £19m. He concedes that a sum of half this is perhaps more likely – and not a vast sum in the context of News Corporation's multi-billion pound turnover.

Here's more on the BBC's story that the News of the World paid a royal protection officer to get the contact details of members of the royal family, their friends and relations.

On the BBC website, Robert Peston, the corporation's business editor, writes that emails uncovered by News International in 2007 showed requests by a reporter for sums of around £1,000 to pay police officers in the royal protection branch for such information. Peston quotes his unnamed source as saying:

There was clear evidence from the emails that the security of the royal family was being put at risk. I was profoundly shocked when I saw them … It is quite astonishing that these emails were not handed to the police for investigation when they were first found in 2007.

Peston reports that the emails were passed to the Metropolitan police on 20 June this year. He has more information about these emails here, and my colleagues Dan Sabbagh and Sam Jones discuss the same trance of emails here:

In 2007, after Clive Goodman, the News of the World's royal editor, and Glenn Mulcaire, the newspaper's private investigator, pleaded guilty to hacking into mobile phones belonging to members of the staff of Prince William and Prince Harry, News International, the publisher of the News of the World, commissioned a mini-inquiry. Goodman had said, in the context of the case, that he was not the only reporter who knew about hacking for the now closed Sunday title. The inquiry, understood to have been more a collection of emails than a formal report, seems to have concluded that Goodman was telling the truth. However, that document, or collection of documents, never saw the light of day … The 2007 dossier has now been passed to Scotland Yard … The memos – which are reported to have been recovered by Will Lewis, News International's general manager and the man given the task of investigating the phone-hacking claims – also suggest that the organisation was paying police officers for information.

Jeremy Hunt, the culture secretary, will be speaking in the Commons at about 4.30pm, Andrew Sparrow reports.

Labour's planned Commons vote on Wednesday on whether the BSkyB bid should be blocked is complicated by the position of the Liberal Democrats, Patrick Wintour writes.

The party president, Tim Farron, and most members see the vote as a chance to show that the party – uniquely at Westminster – never got into bed with Rupert Murdoch. (It should be added that Murdoch probably had no desire for such political pipsqueaks to join him in bed.) As a result Farron and colleagues are determined to vote on Wednesday for a delay to the BSkyB takeover – and hang technical talk that such a move could be illegal or open to judicial review. Although Nick Clegg has not been averse to writing the odd egregious piece about alarm-clock Britain in the Sun newspaper, he is a man of instinctive anti-establishment disposition and probably has as little time for Murdoch's excesses as Farron – hence his call today for Murdoch to drop his bid. But Clegg has been working behind the scenes to prevent a Commons vote in which Conservative MPs vote one way and the Liberal Democrats another. The Hunt initiative, by widening the possible reasons to block a takeover, may make it easier for Conservatives and Liberal Democrats to unite behind a carefully worded motion expressing the view that the government should not wave through the takeover until Ofcom has completed its further inquiries. Ed Miliband will have achieved his wider purpose, and will again have shown political acumen in this crisis, even if he will have to forgo the pleasure of a split in the coalition.

Our readers are discussing which political leader has come out best so far in response to this latest set of phone hacking revelations - and it's a mixed verdict, reports Laura Oliver:

Kovgos writes:

[Ed] Miliband is currently benefiting most - he seized the initiative at PMQs last week and reinforced it with his proposed vote on delaying the takeover at the weekend. The other two are clearly in catch-up mode. The silence from [David] Cameron over the weekend has been particularly noticeable. But who will benefit most remains to be seen: there are so many twists, turns and new developments/revelations in this story you can't safely predict. Also, clearly, Miliband in particular will be targeted by the remaining NI outlets and the other tabloids fearful of exposure for similar practices.

But parse says:

Miliband isn't benefiting from this; he has had to apologise for his party's links to Murdoch and his own supine behaviour previous to jumping on the bandwagon. He is just less damaged than Cameron, who is hugely implicated, and [Nick] Clegg who has misjudged the public mood and continues to give his friend Cameron a "second chance". All around the country people have realised how vulnerable ordinary citizens are to the immorality of News International. As Leonard Cohen said: "The rich have got their channels in the bedrooms of the poor."

WillieThePimp speaks up for Nick Clegg:

Out of all the party leaders it's Clegg that seems to have grown a pair. Miliband was evasive when asked about his attendance at a Murdoch party and that just won't cut it now. Labour are going to have to make a clean break from NI and stop pussyfooting around if they don't want to lose the initiative to the Lib Dems on this.

And GazzaT adds:

It's clear that Nick Clegg is trying to win back some credibility with the public if he can appear tough with Murdoch (just as Miliband is using the issue to gain credibility after a disastrous start to his leadership). However, there will be tough questions ahead as the inquiry trawls through what Labour and Murdoch got up to during the last decade.

Ivan Lewis, the shadow culture secretary, has written to Gus O'Donnell, the head of the civil service, for information about the appointment of Andy Coulson as No 10's head of communications last year. Lewis has asked O'Donnell the following questions:

· Did the prime minister or any of his advisers tell you or other civil servants about any warnings they had received about Mr Coulson's prior conduct? · Will you now ensure that all records across government, including emails, that are communications from, to or about Andy Coulson are retained and can be examined by the inquiry? · Did the deputy prime minister raise any concerns about Mr Coulson with you or other officials? · Did any officials receive warnings about Mr Coulson themselves or raise their own concerns with you? · Did the prime minister or any of his advisers provide you any background checks they had done? · Do you now feel that the vetting process was sufficiently robust and that no one provided false information to it?

Ed Miliband will be replying for Labour to Jeremy Hunt's statement about BSkyB, according to PoliticsHome. That's highly unusually, Andrew Sparrow notes. Normally Hunt's shadow, Ivan Lewis, would reply.

Allegra Stratton sees Ed Miliband's calls for Rupert Murdoch to "drop" his bid for BSkyB as a hardening of Labour's position and as going a step further than previous calls for a delay in the bid process. She draws attention to Miliband's comment that he "won't rest until we ensure this [BSkyB] deal doesn't go ahead".

On the government's proposed inquiry into phone-hacking, Allegra writes:

The government was "dragging its feet" in setting up an independent inquiry, Miliband said, since evidence could currently be being destroyed in places including Downing Street and Conservative central head quarters. He also revealed he would tell the prime minister in their private meeting on Wednesday that the current terms of reference for the second inquiry - covering the culture in the media, rather than the specific phone hacking allegations of the first inquiry - were currently wrong and he was "determined to put that right". Miliband said: "The inquiry must have the right terms of reference covering all the key issues including the culture and practices of the newspaper industry and the relationship between the police and certain newspapers. Neither of these appears to be in the prime minister's current terms of reference. And I'm determined to put that right."

Miliband said that in the light of news that two of Cameron's most senior aides were given information about Andy Coulson's involvement to pass on to the prime minister, Cameron's account "does not add up".

When asked if he was accusing the prime minister of lying Miliband said: "I'm not going to throw around allegations, but… what I'm saying is the prime minister has a whole series of unanswered questions on this issue." Miliband said:

On Friday at his press conference, David Cameron said, and I quote: "No one gave me any specific information" which might have dissuaded him from appointing Andy Coulson. Yet the Guardian newspaper says it had discussions with Steve Hilton, his senior aide, detailing the facts about Andy Coulson's decision to rehire Jonathan Rees, a convicted criminal. According to the Guardian, these included the fact Rees had been jailed for seven years for a criminal conspiracy, after which he had been rehired by Coulson's News of the World. And the fact that Rees's illegal activities on behalf of the News of the World, including making payments to the police. This information was passed by Steve Hilton to the prime minister's chief of staff, Ed Llewellyn. You cannot get more specific information than this. The prime minister must now explain. Did Ed Llewellyn tell him about this evidence and did he ignore it? Or did Mr Llewellyn fail to tell him about this. Either people have been misled about what Mr Cameron knew or mr Llewellyn has completely failed in his duties.

Labour sources have told the Press Association news agency why Ed Miliband is going to be responding to Jeremy Hunt in the Commons this afternoon, rather than Hunt's shadow, Ivan Lewis, as would be usual.

Party sources told the news agency it reflected their belief that it should be David Cameron making the statement on phone hacking and the media:

Jeremy Hunt is not responsible for appointing judge-led inquiries. Jeremy Hunt is not responsible for the employment of Andy Coulson. The prime minister gave a press conference on Friday. He should be prepared to come to the House of Commons.

PA carries some quotes from Cameron's official spokesman stressing that Clegg, in calling for Murdoch to drop his BSkyB bid, has merely been "expressing a view, which he is entitled to do" – ie it's not the government line. Cameron would have nothing to say on the deal, the spokesman said:

The prime minister has been very clear not to involve himself in this decision. It is a decision for the culture secretary that he takes through a quasi-judicial process and the Prime Minister is not involved in it. There is a specific decision on media plurality and that decision is taken by Jeremy Hunt and by him alone.

It is "technically" still possible for Hunt to refer the bid to the Competition Commission, he added.

Back to George Michael, who is still tweeting furiously about News International and hacking, and particularly his personal experiences at the hands of the tabloids. About 45 minutes ago he posted this somewhat cryptic update:

Just spoke to my lawyer.... apparently they want to interview me about my comments on Rebekah Brooks here on twitter...

Assuming he isn't being warned off expressing a view for legal reasons, which seems unlikely given that Brooks has not been arrested, it appears the singer is referring to a tweet from Thursday:

Rebekah Brooks sat two feet from me in my own home and told me that it was never the public that came to them with information.....

If so, a potentially intriguing development. Hugh Grant, Steve Coogan and now George Michael – who next from the celebrity firmament will face up to Murdoch's empire?

Another potentially fascinating update via Twitter. Michael Crick, BBC Newsnight's political editor, sends this missive:

I hear that Gordon Brown going to make statement re activities of Sunday Times this afternoon.

Two possible new elements, then: Brown and another News International title.

My colleague on the business desk, Graeme Wearden, has sent over some news flashes from Reuters.

It appears that lawyers from a group of News Corporation institutional shareholders have filed a complaint at the chancery court in Delaware – the famously business-friendly state where News Corp and thousands of other companies are incorporated – saying the company's board should have taken action against phone hacking years before.

The final update is particularly fascinating:

News Corp shareholders seek to block addition of Elisabeth Murdoch to board, end Rupert Murdoch use of company assets for personal/family agendas – law firm.

PA have a useful update on the latest about the supposed payments to royal protection police officers:

The News of the World bought information about senior members of the royal family from a police officer responsible for their protection, it was claimed today.

Emails uncovered by News International in 2007 suggested that phone details were obtained from a source within Scotland Yard, according to the BBC.

The messages, which were only handed to police last month, are said to have included requests for payments of around £1,000 for contacts for royals, their friends and family.

"It is obviously very worrying indeed," the former Liberal Democrat leader Sir Menzies Campbell told BBC Radio 4's World at One.

"It must inevitably raise questions about whether or not at any stage the safety of a royal family member was put at risk."

A photo from earlier: Milly Dowler's mother, Sally, and sister, Gemma, arrive in Whitehall for their talks with Nick Clegg (see 11.27am)

Assuming there is a judge-led inquiry into the News of the World's activities, and wider media escapades, who will be the all-important person at the centre of it? Here, Joshua Rozenberg considers the possibilities.

Our colleagues on the video desk have posted this interview with Richard Hunter, head of UK equities at financial adviser Hargreaves Lansdown, who explains the latest about the News International share price and the company's prospects of buying the rest of BSkyB. As he says:

There is a huge question mark about whether this deal will go through.

This would be shocking news if it turns out to be true – but Thursday's closure of the News of the World was pretty shocking too.

Michael Wolff, the author of the Rupert Murdoch biography The Man who owns the News, has just tweeted that Murdoch is considering a "get out of Dodge strategy": selling all of News International. We will look into this now.

Throughout the last days of the News of the World its supporters cited its successful campaign for "Sarah's law", the statute that allows people to check up on the whereabouts of people with histories of child sex offences, as one of the paper's major achievements. But was it really a good thing? Professor of criminology David Wilson has another view.

Sky News's Alistair Bunkall has just tweeted:

Rebekah Brooks has just left News International HQ in a black Lexus. Can't be 100% sure but looked like she was reading the Guardian.

Vikram Dodd writes that at least two Scotland Yard protection officers are alleged to have jeopardised the security of the royal family by selling the contact details of the Queen, Prince Charles and their friends and associates to the News of the World.

Informed sources tell the Guardian a contacts book was sold for £1,000 a time to the paper by the officers who were assigned to protect the royal family. It is believed the extensive details in the book then allowed the News of the World to hack phones, facilitated by information passed on to them by at least two royal protection officers. The information was passed by News International to the police in June this year, despite the emails and other documentation having been uncovered by an internal News International investigation in 2007. The revelations add to News International's embarrassment and further damage the Metropolitan police's reputation, given that officers handpicked for the highly sensitive role of protecting the head of state are alleged to have compromised it. It is now believed the News of the World paid a total of £130,000 to police officers prepared to sell the paper information. The contact books contained the details of all royal family members, from the most senior to the most junior. It also contained contact details for their friends, associates and for members of the royal staff.

The BBC's

Laura Kuenssberg tweets:



Rumours whirling around Westminster of more to come this afternoon perhaps with other papers, not just NoTW - PM press conference later too

Scotland Yard have put out a very strongly-worded statement condemning leaks about its investigation, particularly this morning's stories about the News of the World's payments to royal protection officers. The statement cites London's Evening Standard as the source of this, even though it was apparently written about earlier by the BBC's Robert Peston. The statement says:

It is our belief that information that has appeared in the media today is part of a deliberate campaign to undermine the investigation into the alleged payments by corrupt journalists to corrupt police officers and divert attention from elsewhere. At various meetings over the last few weeks information was shared with us by News International and their legal representatives and it was agreed by all parties that this information would be kept confidential so that we could pursue various lines of inquiry, identify those responsible without alerting them and secure best evidence. However we are extremely concerned and disappointed that the continuous release of selected information - that is only known by a small number of people - could have a significant impact on the corruption investigation.

There is one minor victim of this whole affair about whom you've possibly not heard – Rebekah Brooks. No, not that one – her New Hampshire namesake who has spent a considerable time in recent days patiently batting back abusive tweets and telling the senders they've got the wrong person. It's gone on for so long she's now developed a hastag for it – #MyEvilBritishTwin.

Here is an Audioboo recording of Rebekah Brooks addressing the sometimes angry News of the World staff on Friday.

Here's a clip of Ed Miliband's statement on phone hacking earlier today, in which the Labour leader called on Rupert Murdoch to drop his bid for 100% of BSkyB.

_

Michael Wolff, who wrote a recent biography of Rupert Murdoch, has just been speaking on BBC News about his suggestion that Rupert Murdoch might sell the whole of News International to stem the damage to his wider business (see 2.38pm). Wolff said: "Among the many discussions that are going on within News Corporation, this is one theme." He added:

This is chicken with head cut off time, largely. … The whole world changed for News Corporation last week. Up until then they thought: "OK, we can manage this … It doesn't compromise our business, we don't lose any money, no one named Murdoch is at risk" … Last week that suddenly changed. It's important for UK listeners to understand that the bulk of this company is concentrated in the US … and the bulk of its revenues do not come from newspapers.

He said that before last week no one in the US was interested in this story - but now that has changed too. "Suddenly there is an enormous interest in this … a growing interest."

"Does this scandal spread to the US?" he asked rhetorically. The interview ended with Wolff being asked what he thought Murdoch was most likely to do next. He replied:

I think Rupert Murdoch for one of the first times in his life has absolutely no idea what he should do.

My colleague Graeme Wearden sends more on News Corp's share price. The phone hacking scandal has sent News Corp's shares falling by over 5% in early trading on Wall Street, in the latest sign that the crisis in Britain is damaging the wider Murdoch empire.

Analysts have already been suggesting that the UK newspapers are more trouble than they are worth, which indicates that the "get out of Dodge" strategy flagged up by Michael Wolff (see 2.38pm) might be popular. In London BSkyB shares are currently trading at 705p, down 6% on

the day but up from their lowest level of 693p. Markets analyst Louise Cooper of BGC Partners says that institutional investors have been buying up BSkyB shares today as a good long-term bet, often from speculators keen to cut their losses. Interestingly, Goldman Sachs upgraded their recommendation on BSkyB to "buy" this morning. Goldman explained that "we see the 14% decline in BSkyB's share price in the last two days as an attractive entry point … The long-term fundamentals remain strong, in our view."

Police have warned Buckingham Palace that they have found evidence that the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall may have had their voicemail hacked by the News of the World, Nick Davies writes.

The heir to the throne and his wife are among at least 10 members of the royal household who have now been warned they were targeted for hacking, according to police records obtained by the Guardian. Only five had previously been identified … The revelation comes as the BBC disclosed that the emails which News International handed to Scotland Yard in June include evidence that the paper had paid bribes to a royal protection officer in order to obtain private phone numbers for the royal household.

David Cameron is speaking about public service reform in Canary Wharf, east London. If questions turn to News International, phone hacking and BSkyB, I'll let you know.

David Cameron is repeating his lines about giving Andy Coulson a second chance. He says at no stage did anyone give him information saying that Coulson knew about phone hacking at the News of the World.

We do have a system in this country of innocence until proven guilty, Cameron says about Coulson.

On BSkyB, he says the government has to follow all the correct procedures and that's what it will do.

On the royal protection officers and allegations that Gordon Brown had his bank account hacked - "absolutely appalling". He is determined we will get to the bottom of this.

Journalists from across News International repeatedly targeted the former prime minister Gordon Brown, attempting to access his voicemail and obtaining information from his bank account, his legal file as well as his family's medical details, Nick Davies and David Leigh report.

There is also evidence that a private investigator used a serving police officer to trawl the police national computer for information about him … Separately, Brown's tax paperwork was taken from his accountant's office apparently by hacking into the firm's computer. This was passed to another newspaper. Brown was targeted during a period of more than 10 years, both as chancellor of the exchequer and as prime minister. Some of the activity clearly was illegal. Other incidents breached his privacy but not the law.

An important new development in the Sky takeover bid. News Corporation has just withdrawn its previous offer to spin off Sky News as part of the undertakings made to get the bid cleared by regulators. Our head of media Dan Sabbagh understands this means the bid will now automatically be referred to the Competition Commission, but will be filing a full explanation shortly.

Lembit Öpik and Brian Paddick, who both want to be the Lib Dem candidate for mayor of London next year, intend to sue over the alleged hacking of their phones, raising the possibility that the scandal may become an issue during the campaign, Hélène Mulholland reports. Paddick intends to sue the police rather than News International.

On BBC News, Robert Peston says that News Corp's decision to withdraw its spin-off of Sky News means News Corp is essentially throwing the decision over the merger to the Competition Commission – which means a long delay, but does keep the bid alive.

Here's a full list of phone hacking victims identified so far.

The BBC's Robert Peston says the News Corp move to abandon its promise to spin off Sky News so it could take over BSkyB looks "very clever from a tactical point of view" but whether it is right or wrong we will not know until all the revelations have come out.

Polly Curtis sends David Cameron's full quotes on the BSkyB takeover bid:

There are legal processes when one media company wants to take over another media company, there are legal processes about competition, about plurality, about fitness and properness and there are organisations responsible for carrying out those tests and advising ministers who have to act in a quasi-judicial capacity. It's very important the proper processes are followed. All I would say is this: if I was running that company right now with all the problems and the difficulties and the mess frankly that there is I think they should be focused on clearing those up rather than on the next corporate move. That is the view I would take if I was running that company. But what government has to do is follow all the correct procedures and processes and that is exactly what we will do.

Andrew Sparrow adds this about David Cameron statement just now on Andy Coulson.

Asked about Andy Coulson, he said that no one ever gave him information before he hired Coulson showing that Coulson knew about phone hacking at the News of the World. (Coulson, of course, denies the allegation that he knew about phone hacking at the paper.) Cameron said he would not have hired Coulson if he had been given information of this kind. This actually misses the point. At his news conference this morning, Ed Miliband said Cameron needed to explain why he ignored a different set of warnings about the suitability of employing Coulson.

Polly Curtis sensed a clear change of tone from David Cameron on Andy Coulson; last week the prime minister said Coulson was still a friend. Today Cameron said:

Of course there were people who said, "Well, you shouldn't employ someone from the News of the World," and the rest of it. But at no stage did anyone give me any evidence that he knew about the phone hacking at the News of the World. If they had done, I wouldn't have employed him, if they had done subsequently, I would have fired him. I never had that information. I gave Andy Coulson a second chance; I employed him. I did it in good faith on the basis of the assurances he gave me. If it turns out these assurances are untrue I will be incredibly angry and incredibly let down and the first to put my hand up and point out that this brings about a new situation, but we do have a system in our country where you are innocent until proven guilty I employed this person on the basis of the assurances he gave and I did so in good faith.

Jeremy Hunt is speaking now.

His statement has been changed by events of the last hour or so and he has not had time to give it to Ed Miliband. Miliband looks angry.

Jeremy Hunt calls for "no mercy" on those responsible for phone hacking and their managers.

Hunt talks about the two inquiries being set up.

On BSkyB, he says many MPs have concerns about News Corp taking control of BSkyB.

He says he understands News Corp have withdrawn their undertakings.

As a result he is now going to refer it to the Competition Commission immediately.

Today's announcement will be an outcome I am sure the whole house will welcome, he says. It will mean the Competition Commission will be able to give further full and exhaustive consideration of this merger taking into account all relevant recent developments.

He says the late notice and lack of statement points to the chaos and confusion in the government over this issue and that David Cameron should have been speaking instead of Hunt.

Hunt has been left to carry the can by a prime minister who knows there are too many difficult questions for him to answer, Miliband says - an insult to the house and the public.

Will the culture secretary agree the judge-led inquiry should start immediately so that no evidence is destroyed, Miliband asks. He is worried about evidence in Conservative HQ and No 10.

The trouble the government is in is of its own making, Miliband says - the culture secretary chose not to follow the recommendation of Ofcom to refer this bid to the Competition Commission. "The confusion continues" with Nick Clegg calling on Rupert Murdoch to drop his bid. "Does the deputy prime minister speak for the government? If so is the culture secretary asking Rupert Murdoch to drop the bid?"

Will there be any decision on BSkyB while the criminal investigation into phone hacking is going on?

On the Guardian's warning about Andy Coulson to Steve Hilton about Coulson's links to convicted criminal Jonathan Rees, which Hilton passed on to Ed Llewellyn, the PM's chief of staff, can Hunt tell the house if Llewellyn passed this information to Cameron? If he didn't, "it beggars belief" The issue "goes to the heart of the prime minister's integrity". The PM is running scared from the decisions he made - the victims, the country and the Commons deserve better.

The prime minister has just got back from Afghanistan, where we are fighting a war, Hunt says.

He also brings up Ed Miliband's director of communications Tom Baldwin (see 12.15pm).

Hunt says regarding BSkyB he has only been following the processes set down by the Enterprise Act 2002 passed by the then-Labour leader.

And Ed Miliband went to Rupert Murdoch's summer party and failed to bring up phone hacking, and did not act when in government.

He reads out some parts of Jonathan Powell's book saying that Tony Blair and Gordon Brown failed to tackle press excesses when in power.

Alan Johnson, the former home secretary, causes appalled and delighted uproar in equal measure by saying the house has been hearing from the monkey, rather than the organ grinder. He asks a similar question to Miliband about what Ed Llewellyn told Cameron.

On the Sun website you can still see its trumpeting of its 2006 story that Gordon Brown's son has cystic fibrosis, under the headline "The Sun online - we break news". The article notes:

THIS year has seen your No1 Sun online break some cracking news stories. We set the news agenda on November 30, breaking the sad news that Gordon Brown's baby boy Fraser has Cystic Fibrosis. As well as telling the devastating news, the story was used to increase national understanding of the condition, in partnership with the Cystic Fibrosis Trust.

The Sun story is here.

Today my colleague Nick Davies reveals:

In October 2006, the then editor of the Sun, Rebekah Brooks, contacted the Browns to tell them that they had obtained details from the medical information on their four-month-old son, Fraser, which revealed that the boy was suffering from cystic fibrosis. This appears to have been a clear breach of the Data Protection Act, which would allow such a disclosure only if it was in the public interest. Friends of the Browns say the call caused them immense distress, since they were only coming to terms with the diagnosis, which had not been confirmed. The Sun published the story.

Here's our full story on Hunt's decision to refer the BSkyB bid to the Competition Commission. Dan Sabbagh writes:

Jeremy Hunt referred News Corporation's £8bn bid for BSkyB to the Competition Commission, pushing it back at least six months, after Rupert Murdoch chose on Monday to withdraw his offer to spin off Sky News in order to get the media merger cleared by regulators. Forty-five minutes before Hunt was due to get up and address MPs to update them on how he would handle the Sky bid, Murdoch's News Corp said it was "withdrawing its proposed undertakings in lieu of reference to the Competition Commission".

Hunt says he is "particularly keen" that the inquiry being set up should cover "blagging" - obtaining private information illegally, under false pretences.

Tom Watson, the Labour MP who has long campaigned on phone hacking, asks about Jonathan Rees (see 4.30pm). He says this is a story of "institutional criminality at News International".

Watson says that John Yates, the senior Metropolitan police officer who reviewed the first inquiry into phone hacking, misled parliament and misled readers of the Sunday Telegraph in an interview published only yesterday. Does Hunt agree Yates should consider his position?

Hunt says that is not a matter for him.

Chris Bryant, the Labour MP, says Yates "repeatedly lied to parliament". He said there were very few victims and they had all been notified. He should apologise.

Dennis Skinner, the Labour MP, says the "absent prime minister" has been able to dodge all the questions about criminality in the Murdoch empire. He suggests Chris Huhne, the minister under investigation over allegations he got his wife to take his driving penalty points, should drive Rupert Murdoch to the airport.

Hunt says Skinner can ask David Cameron whatever he wants every Wednesday at PMQs.

Was Andy Coulson properly vetted to avoid the risk of blackmail? Hunt does not know, he says.

Greg Hands (Con) asks about "blagging" - obtaining private information illegally, under false pretences. Will the inquiry look at that? Hunt says it must be stamped out.

Jo Swinson, a Lib Dem MP, asks what will happen if Ofcom cannot make a decision about whether News Corporation passes the "fit and proper" test. If this matter has not been resolved when Hunt has to take a decision about the bid, because criminal proceedings are still ongoing, will he put the decision on hold?

Hunt says he is not allowed to order a pause. But he says the Competition Commission inquiry will take six months. After that there will be a further consultation. Hunt says he is determined to consider all the issues properly.

Hunt confirms that the decision about News Corporation's bid for BSkyB will not be taken until next year.

What is the engagement the prime minister has preferred to attend rather than addressing the house, Toby Perkins (Labour) asks. Jeremy Hunt says he is here because the developments are about a decision he has responsibility for.

Hunt is asked again about whether Ed Llewellyn told Cameron about Coulson. Hunt says again that Cameron did not have any information that Coulson knew about phone hacking.

Hunt was careful to say that David Cameron had not spoken to Andy Coulson "recently" - correcting a reference to Cameron not having spoken to Coulson since his resignation. He is asked to list details of times they have spoken since then.

Bloggers Belle du Jour and Girl with a One-Track Mind are both claiming newspapers have hacked their emails.

Belle du Jour (Brooke Magnanti) writes:

I had trojans in email from certain newspapers pre-2006, I wonder how many also had but didn't realise it. … Apart from blogging this am not going to take it further. Simply a heads-up to others who might have been affected.

Girl with a One-Track Mind (Zoe Margolis) writes that she is "definitely contacting the Met" about her own case.

Haroon Siddique writes that Keith Vaz, the chairman of the home affairs committee, has received a reply today from the Met's assistant commissioner, John Yates, concerning Yates's review - or not - of the 2006 police investigation into phone hacking and allegations over the Milly Dowler case.

In the letter, Yates says he did not become aware of the allegations relating to the hacking of Milly Dowler's phone until the story was published last week. More significantly, Yates disputes Vaz's contention that the assistant commissioner previously told the home affairs committee he "had thoroughly reviewed all the evidence from 2006". Yates writes: "This is not the case and I do not believe that I have ever given the impression to either your committee or your fellow committee - culture, media & sport (CMSC) - that I had carried out such an exercise ... "I appreciate that events have moved on considerably but it should not be forgotten that the catalyst for the new investigation (and the levels of resources now applied) was solely the result of new evidence being produced by the News International in January of this year. From the beginning of my involvement in this matter in 2009, I have never conducted a 'review' of the original investigation and nor have I ever been asked to do so." While Yates was quoted in the Sunday Telegraph as saying his decision not to reopen an investigation into News International in 2009 had been "a pretty crap one", which he now deeply regretted, in the letter to Vaz he is more defensive, pointing out that the decision not to reopen it was endorsed by the director of public prosecutions, Keir Starmer QC. Yeates is one of a number of current and former senior officers due to give evidence to the home affairs committee on Tuesday.

Well, this afternoon was as busy as this morning. Here are the key developments.

• Jeremy Hunt, the culture secretary, referred News Corporation's bid for 100% of BSkyB to the Competition Commission, after News Corp withdrew its promise to spin Sky News off into a separate company, a key element of making sure the bid passed media plurality conditions. The decision about News Corp's bid will now not be taken until next year at the earliest. (See 4.43pm.) Nick Clegg and Ed Miliband called on Rupert Murdoch to drop the bid altogether.

• News International was revealed to have targeted Gordon Brown, attempting to access his voicemail and obtaining information from his bank account, his legal file as well as his family's medical details (see 3.54pm).

• Charles and Camilla were warned their voicemail may have been hacked by the News of the World (see 3.26pm). Separately, it was alleged that the News of the World paid royal protection officers for details of the royal family (see 2.48pm). Scotland Yard put out a strong statement implying that News International had been leaking details of their investigation in order to undermine it (see 2.54pm).

• David Cameron made his strongest comments about Andy Coulson, the News of the World editor who became his director of communications. He said he would be "incredibly angry and incredibly let down" if Coulson's assurances that he did not know about phone hacking turn out to have been untrue (see 4.12pm). Miliband said Cameron needed to explain why he ignored warnings about Coulson before making him No 10 director of communications (see 12.05pm) and the issue came up repeatedly in the Commons.

• This article was amended on 15 July 2011 to remove references to the obtaining of "medical records" - in line with the following correction, that appeared in the Guardian on 15 July 2011:

Articles in the Guardian of Tuesday 12 July incorrectly reported that the Sun newspaper had obtained information on the medical condition of Gordon Brown's son from his medical records. In fact the information came from a different source and the Guardian apologises for its error (The Brown files: How Murdoch papers targeted ex-PM's family, 12 July, page 1; When Brown decided that the Sun was out to destroy him politically, 12 July, page 2)