UK PM faces Murdoch storm at media probe

David Cameron (L) and Rebekah Brooks (R)

David Cameron received a text message from one of Rupert Murdoch's closest aides saying they were "in this together", Britain's press ethics inquiry heard during testimony from the prime minister.
The 2009 text from Rebekah Brooks -- the former head of Murdoch's British newspaper wing and editor of shamed tabloid the News of the World -- raised fresh questions about Cameron's links to Murdoch's media empire.
Cameron dismissed claims that his party made secret deals with Murdoch, but he was put on the spot over the text from Brooks, a close friend of his who appeared in court just a day earlier charged with obstructing justice.
"I am so rooting for you tomorrow not just as a personal friend but because professionally we're definitely in this together," said the text, which was read out by counsel to the inquiry Robert Jay.
The text was sent a day before Cameron, who was then opposition leader, was due to address the annual conference of his Conservative party in October 2009. Brooks was chief executive of News International at the time.
"Speech of your life? Yes he Cam!," the text continued, punning on his surname and on US President Barack Obama's 2008 election slogan.
The text also suggested that Cameron -- who knew Brooks' husband Charlie from their schooldays at the elite Eton College -- have a "country supper" to discuss an "issue" with the Murdoch-owned Times newspaper.
Murdoch's top-selling British tabloid The Sun had come out in support of Cameron just over a week earlier, dropping then-prime minister Gordon Brown of the Labour Party.
Cameron's appearance comes amid new reverberations from the scandal, with a rift opening in the coalition government over a parliamentary vote on Wednesday over whether to investigate the minister responsible for deciding on the bid.
Cameron set up the Leveson inquiry in July last year after the News of the World was shut down. The inquiry is due to produce a report, likely to include recommendations on the future of press regulation, in October.