David Cameron’s government is suffering the worst week of its two-year reign after Britain slipped back into recession and its integrity was called into question over links to Rupert Murdoch’s empire. The surprise news on the economy — analysts had widely expected modest growth — capped a torrid few weeks for the government of Cameron’s Conservatives and their junior partners, the Liberal Democrats. The economic bombshell exploded as Cameron’s culture minister Jeremy Hunt was fighting for his job over revelations the government had leaked information to Murdoch’s News Corp. over its attempted takeover of pay-TV giant BSkyB. Hunt insists he acted properly over the now-abandoned bid and has vowed to prove it, but the main opposition Labour party scents blood and is calling for the Conservative minister’s removal. While Labour’s barbs over the Murdoch links are tempered by the fact they also cosied up to the media baron when they were in power, Cameron must win the more serious argument on the economy. After Wednesday’s announcement that Britain was back in recession after a gap of two years, Cameron refused to accept that his government’s policy of deep cuts to public spending to slash a record deficit were crushing growth.
