THE NEWS OF THE WORLD (3)

The News of the World may be gone as a newspaper, but the ripples from its sinking are lapping around the pond of 10, Downing Street. The reason is the inquiry under Lord Justice Leveson into the culture, practice and ethics of the British press. Although the inquiry was set up by Prime Minister David Cameron, it carries risks for him, as a series of witnesses take the stand.

Today it was the turn of Andy Coulson. Mr. Coulson was the editor of the News of the World, who resigned in January 2007 after its royal reporter was jailed for phone hacking. Four months later, he was hired by Mr. Cameron, then the leader of the opposition, to become his director of communications. He continued that job in Government after the 2010 election, but resigned in January 2011 when the phone hacking scandal was dominating the news.

Although Mr. Coulson did not provide a "smoking gun", he did let slip that he had failed to disclose that he owned £40,000 worth of shares in News Corporation (the News of the World's parent company) while working for the Government. Having been a civil servant myself, I find that surprising, to say the least. However, what is even more surprising is that apparently, nobody saw fit to ask him. Nor did they probe him on his assertion that he knew nothing, when the phone hacking saga came to dominate the newspapers. That in turn suggests a carelessness within the Prime Minister's support staff.

Mr. Coulson's appearance is the start of a series of heavyweight figures, who will appear before the inquiry. They include Mr. Cameron's two predecessors, Gordon Brown and Tony Blair. But the most dangerous witness, due tomorrow, may well be former editor of the News of the World and CEO of News International Rebekah Brooks, who counts Mr. Cameron as a personal friend.

Walter Blotscher