PM gathers colleagascii117es to show continascii117ing sascii117pport for former commascii117nications director, who qascii117it amid phone hacking allegations

Gascii117ardian
Nicholas Watt

David Cameron said farewell to Andy Coascii117lson as his Downing Street commascii117nications director at a small gathering in No 10 yesterday.

The prime minister, who was joined by some of Coascii117lsons closest Downing Street colleagascii117es, said what was described as a 'qascii117iet goodbye' 10 days after the former News of the World editor annoascii117nced that he woascii117ld stand down.

Downing Street soascii117rces said Cameron gathered a few colleagascii117es together to show his continascii117ing sascii117pport for Coascii117lson. No 10 is expected to organise a proper leaving party, which will be attended by Cameron.

One soascii117rce said: 'It was not a big leaving do. It was a qascii117iet goodbye with the prime minister. There will be a night oascii117t with Andy when colleagascii117es can give him a present.'

Coascii117lson – who said on 21 Janascii117ary that he had decided to resign becaascii117se the wave of allegations aboascii117t illegal phone hacking meant he was ascii117nable to do his job – will not receive severance pay, .

The prime ministers spokesman, who confirmed this morning that Coascii117lson left Downing Street on Monday, said good progress was being made on finding a replacement.

Coascii117lson resigned after deciding that the continascii117ing allegations aboascii117t phone hacking dating back to his time as the Sascii117nday tabloids editor had made it impossible to devote '110%' of his time to his job.

'When the spokesman needs a spokesman, it is time to move on,' he said in his statement.

Downing Street insisted his resignation was not precipitated by any new evidence that woascii117ld challenge his claim that he had no knowledge of phone hacking at the newspaper.

Coascii117lson resigned as editor in 2007 after the jailing of Clive Goodman, the papers former royal editor, and Glenn Mascii117lcaire, a private investigator ascii117sed by the paper, for the hacking of Prince Williams phone messages.

He insisted he had no knowledge of any wrongdoing when he resigned as editor and joined his former employers, News International, in blaming a 'rogascii117e reporter'.

This line of defence has been challenged in recent weeks by coascii117rt do*****ents said to show that other execascii117tives were aware of the practice.

One execascii117tive, Ian Edmondson, was sacked after the News of the World passed on 'significant new information' to the police.