Cameron cuts short Africa trip; police second-in-command resigns

By Anthony Faiola,
WashPost
Updated: Monday, July 18, 9:42 AM

LONDON — The No. 2 official in London’s vaunted Metropolitan Police Service resigned on Monday because of the ongoing phone-hacking scandal, and Prime Minister David Cameron said he would cut short a trip to Africa to address a special session of Parliament about the latest developments.

Cameron — struggling to deflect criticism that he was too cozy with editors in Rupert Murdoch’s media empire who are involved in the scandal — asked Parliament to delay its scheduled summer recess for a day to “answer any questions that may arise.”

Meanwhile, Assistant Police Commissioner John Yates, who years ago made the decision to drop the police probe of the hacking scandal, announced his resignation, one day after his boss, Sir Paul Stephenson, did the same.

Yates--once considered a candidate to run the Metropolitan Police Service, better known as Scotland Yard--had defiantly sought to hold on to his position, even after being hauled before Parliament last week for what amounted to a public humiliation.

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