British culture secretary Jeremy Hunt was given the job of making an impartial decision on whether Rupert Murdoch should be allowed to take over satellite broadcaster BSkyB: but he'd already told David Cameron he was in favour of the deal.

The revelation came from Hunt's former special adviser, Adam Smith, who was forced to resign over the affair – and was yesterday portrayed as a scapegoat by Avaaz activists staging a protest outside the Leveson Inquiry into the British media.

Smith's testimony puts further pressure on Hunt, who will face Leveson himself next week. According to a poll conducted for Avaaz, 62% of British people think Hunt should resign immediately.

You can be a phone hacker too!

Meanwhile, British TV journalist Jeremy Paxman revealed how former Murdoch editor Piers Morgan – who now hosts a primetime talkshow on CNN – once explained to him exactly how one might hack someone's mobile phone mailbox. The incident took place at a lunch 10 years ago, when Morgan edited the (non-Murdoch) tabloid the Daily Mirror. According to Paxman, the hacking technique was "clearly something that [Morgan] was familiar with". No response yet from CNN.

Further reading: For more information and live video from the Leveson Inquiry visit its homepage.