Britain's Cameron to face parliament over hacking claims

British Prime Minister David Cameron will face questions from lawmakers Wednesday over his party's links with Rupert Murdoch's media empire and phone-hacking suspects.

Cameron cut short a trip to Africa to return early to Britain, after it emerged that Neil Wallis, a former News of the World deputy editor who has been arrested over the phone-hacking scandal, had been giving "informal" advice to his own press advisor, DPA reported.

That advisor, Andy Coulson, was himself a former News of the World editor, and was forced to resign from both that job and as Cameron's head of communications over the affair.

Both Coulson and Wallis are on bail after having been arrested over the phone-hacking scandal.

The opposition Labour party claim appointing Coulson in the first place showed a major error of judgement on the prime minister's part.

Cameron is expected to use an emergency statement to the House of Commons to announce the names of a panel that will look at press regulation and the final terms of reference for the judge-led inquiry into claims about phone-hacking and illegal payments to police.

The statement will be followed by a debate.

On Tuesday, Rupert Murdoch, his son James, and former News of the World editor Rebekah Brooks all gave evidence to a select committee of parliament.

All denied knowing of the phone-hacking at the time, which police estimate may have targeted up to 4,000 people, from royals and celebrities, to a murdered child and the relatives of soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Murdoch called the session "the most humble day of my life."

Meanwhile police on Wednesday charged a man accused of attacking Murdoch with a foam pie near the end of the evidence session.

Jonathan May-Bowles was bailed to appear before a magistrates court on Friday, charged with behaviour causing harassment, alarm or distress in a public place.