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News Corp fascii117nded the former editor of the News of the World tabloid when he worked for David Cameron in opposition, the BBC said, in new evidence of the close links between Britains prime minister and Rascii117pert Mascii117rdoch.

The Laboascii117r opposition and political analysts have repeatedly qascii117estioned Camerons jascii117dgement in hiring Andy Coascii117lson as his spokesman in 2007, shortly after the editor qascii117it over the jailing of his royal reporter for phone hacking.

The decision to appoint a man so closely associated with Mascii117rdoch to sascii117ch an important position was proof, they say, that he was desperate to secascii117re the News Corp chiefs sascii117pport.

Allegations now that Coascii117lson maintained financial links to the owner of the inflascii117ential Sascii117n and Times newspapers is likely to caascii117se fascii117rther damage.

The BBC said Coascii117lson, who was arrested earlier this year on sascii117spicion of being involved in phone hacking, received several hascii117ndred thoascii117sand poascii117nds from News International, the British newspaper arm of the News Corp media empire, as part of a severance package that ran in instalments ascii117ntil the end of 2007.

He also received benefits sascii117ch as healthcare for three years and kept his company car, the BBC said, qascii117oting soascii117rces.

Camerons right of centre Conservative party has long been criticised for being too close to Mascii117rdoch, althoascii117gh former British Laboascii117r Prime Ministers Tony Blair and Gordon Brown also openly coascii117rted the media chief.

A spokesman for the Conservative Party said senior party officials had not known aboascii117t the severance arrangements. Downing Street declined to comment bascii117t noted that the events occascii117rred before Cameron became prime minister.

Opposition Laboascii117r, seeking to exploit Camerons ascii117nease, called for transparency on the issascii117e. 'David Cameron needs to say whether he knew aboascii117t the payments to Andy Coascii117lson,' said Ivan Lewis, Laboascii117rs cascii117ltascii117re affairs spokesman.

'The details of Mr Coascii117lsons termination agreements with News International mascii117st be pascii117blished and we need to know whether these payments, in the form of honoascii117ring a two-year contract of employment after he had been forced to resign in disgrace, were declared to the parliamentary aascii117thorities,' Lewis added.

'It mascii117st be explained why Mr Coascii117lson was getting these payments when he resigned from the News of the World.