An embarrassing text message from Rebekah Brooks, explanations about the handling of the BSkyB bid, the hiring of Andy Coulson, and thoughts on a new system of press regulation marked the Prime Minister’s appearance at the Leveson Inquiry yesterday. Thais Portilho-Shrimpton reports.The Prime Minister has praised Lord Hunt’s proposals for a new PCC, but thought they should be “rigorously tested” to define whether they can deliver.David Cameron gave a whole day of evidence to the inquiry yesterday, where, as well as praising Lord Hunt, he had to explain his closeness to Rebekah Brooks, and what steps he took in 2007 to ensure Andy Coulson had had no involvement in phone hacking, before hiring him.He told Lord Justice Leveson newspapers were currently trying to respond to the failure of self-regulation through the work that Lord Hunt was doing with the Press Complaints Commission.He said: “I've looked carefully at what [Lord] David Hunt is suggesting. I think he has some very good ideas there. I think they have to be rigorously tested as to whether they can deliver independence, penalties, compulsion, toughness, public confidence and all the rest of it.”Cameron said he did not want to commit himself “too deeply”, despite the fact that he would never forget the meeting with the Dowler family in Downing Street to run through the terms of the inquiry with them and hear what they had been through, “and how it had redoubled, trebled the pain and agony they’d been through over losing Milly”.He said: “I think as we go at this, we have to understand the real concern there is about statutory regulation. That doesn't mean you rule it out, but it means try and make everything that can be independent work before you reach for that lever.”Lord Justice Leveson reminded the Prime Minister that Robert Jay, inquiry counsel, was not suggesting any form of statutory regulation [exchange here, from page 54].He said: I think what Mr Jay is really getting to is not suggesting any form of statutory regulation, but perhaps a system whereby what was required was described by a statute which similarly provided the same constitutional independence for the press that section 3(1) of the Constitution Reform Act provides the judiciary, and if I occasionally peddle that particular provision it's because it was an idea I had some months ago.He added: “Which provides the structure onto which a system that is entirely independent of government, of politicians and carries with it perhaps not serving editors but those who have got the experience of the industry as well as independent members would satisfy the criteria which we've been discussing.”Invitation from Rebekah Brooks for ‘country supper’Cameron went through an embarrassing moment when Jay read out a text message sent by Rebekah Brooks days before his party conference speech, on October 7, 2009.The text read: "But seriously I do understand the issue with the Times. Let's discuss over country supper soon. On the party it was because I had asked a number of NI people to Manchester post endorsement and they were disappointed not to see you. But as always Sam was wonderful -- (and I thought it was OE's that were charm personified!) I am so rooting for you tomorrow not just as a proud friend but because professionally we're definitely in this together! Speech of your life? Yes he Cam!"The Prime Minister explained the issue with the Times was that he had not attended the Times party at party conference, and had apologised for it.He said: “I think that is about the Sun had made this decision to back the Conservatives, to part company with Labour, and so the Sun wanted to make sure it was helping the Conservative Party put its best foot forward with the policies we were announcing, the speech I was going to make and all the rest of it, and I think that's what that means.”He added: “I think what it means (professionally) is that we were, as she put it, we were friends, but professionally, we as leader of the Conservative Party and her in newspapers, we were going to be pushing the same political agenda.”He explained the “country supper” invitation was probably due to the fact they were neighbours in Oxfordshire.The Conservatives and the BSkyb bidFollowing the evidence given by News Corp lobbyist Fed Michel, Jeremy Hunt’s special adviser Adam Smith, the secretary of state himself, Vince Cable, George Osborne and Nick Clegg, it was Cameron’s time to explain his views in relation to the BSkyB takeover bid.He said: “My view about this and about all these sorts of things is in a free market enterprise economy, you should allow mergers, takeovers, acquisitions to go ahead unless there is a public interest in them not going ahead, so I could quite understand why News Corporation would want to make this acquisition, but there are important processes that had to go through.“Competition processes, plurality processes, and the rest of it, so that was my view. It was very important that that happened.”He explained how the decision to replace Vince Cable after the Telegraph sting was made and explained why it was made in less than 24 hours.Cameron had a series of meetings with the Deputy Prime Minister, his Chief of Staff, other members of staff, including the Permanent Secretary at Number 10 Downing Street, Jeremy Heywood, “because obviously Vince Cable could not continue adjudicating this bid”.He said Jeremy Heywood came up with the idea of moving the process over to DCMS and Jeremy Hunt, and he thought it was the “neatest and most straightforward way of dealing with this issue”.Hiring of Andy Coulson as director of communicationsThe Prime Minister was probed about which steps he had taken to ensure Andy Coulson had not been directly involved in phone hacking in relation to the Glenn Mulcaire and Clive Goodman trial, and that there was no evidence the practice was widespread.He said Coulson was the best candidate for the job, because of his tabloid background, and because running the news flow when someone is running a political party is “very fast, it's very furious, and you need someone seriously good at handling it”, so that to him was one of the key qualifications.On what assurances he had sought on Coulson’s involvement in phone hacking, he said: “My recollection is that I raised the issue of phone hacking and sought the assurance in the face-to-face meeting we had in my office. That's my recollection.“I vaguely remember the further telephone call, but that's -- I've obviously racked my brains to try and remember exactly the sequencing, but my recollection is that I knew it was very important that I needed to ask him that question, and therefore did so, as it says in my evidence.”At one point, Jay asked if Cameron had been made aware of the New York Times piece on hacking, from December 1, 2010, which made direct accusations at Andy Coulson.He said: “I can't remember the exact sequence of events that day, but yes, I was made aware of it, and I think the key point is that Andy Coulson directly denied and a statement was put out on his behalf by Number 10 Downing Street about this accusation.”Cameron explained near the time of his resignation, in 2011, Coulson knew it was time to go, because that was what happened when “the spokesman needs a spokesman”.