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British Prime Minister David Cameron on Monday called for an emergency session of parliament to brief lawmakers on a spreading phone hacking scandal, trying to gain control of a crisis that is threatening Rupert Murdoch's media empire, the upper echelons of London's police force and the country's leader himself.

The scandal forced two of London's top police officers to resign in less than 24 hours. Scotland Yard Chief Paul Stephenson stepped down on Sunday night, followed out the door on Monday by Assistant Commissioner John Yates.

Yates was the official who decided two years ago not to reopen police inquiries into phone hacking and police bribery by tabloid journalists, saying he did not believe there was any new evidence to consider.

Yates, also the Metropolitan Police's top counter terrorism officer, announced his resignation in a statement on Monday.

Parliament is due to break up for the summer on Tuesday after lawmakers grill Murdoch, his son James and his former British CEO Rebekah Brooks about the scandal, but Cameron said "it may well be right to have Parliament meet on Wednesday so I can make a further statement".

Cameron was speaking in Pretoria, South Africa, on the first day of a two-day visit to the continent. He had planned a longer trip, but cut it short as his government faces increasing questions about its relationship with the Murdoch empire and a scandal has taken down some of Britain's most powerful with breathless speed.

In the latest twist in the legal saga, Britain's Serious Fraud Office, Britain's anti-fraud agency, said on Monday it was giving "full consideration" to a request from a lawmaker that it open an investigation into Murdoch's News Corp.

The office said any possible probe would be limited to News Corp activities in Britain, but it added that it is ready to assist authorities in the US, where the FBI has already opened an inquiry into whether Sept 11, 2001, victims or their families were also hacking targets of News Corp journalists.

Cameron insisted his government had "taken very decisive action" by setting up a judge-led inquiry into wrongdoing at the newspaper and relations between politicians, the media and police.

"We have helped to ensure a large and properly resourced police investigation that can get to the bottom of what happened, and wrongdoing, and we have pretty much demonstrated complete transparency in terms of media contact," Cameron said.

（中國(guó)日?qǐng)?bào)網(wǎng)英語(yǔ)點(diǎn)津 Julie 編輯）

About the broadcaster:

Lee Hannon is Chief Editor at China Daily with 15-years experience in print and broadcast journalism. Born in England, Lee has traveled extensively around the world as a journalist including four years as a senior editor in Los Angeles. He now lives in Beijing and is happy to move to China and join the China Daily team.