12 Things David Cameron Wants You To Forget

4. He Appointed Andy Coulson As His Director Of Communications In 2007... Before The Former News Of The World Editor Was Arrested For Involvement In The Phone-Hacking Scandal

In one of Cameron's worst errors of judgement, he appointed Andy Coulson as his Conservative Party communications director in July 2007. This, despite the fact Coulson had only just resigned as editor of New of the World following the conviction of one of the Sunday newspaper's reporters in relation to illegal phone-hacking. Coulson followed Cameron to Number 10, working as the Downing Street Director of Communications, before finally leaving that role in January 2011 due to continued coverage of the phone-hacking affair. Then, in June 2014, Coulson was found guilty of conspiracy to intercept voicemails and was given an 18-month prison sentence. Worryingly, Coulson had access to top-secret information while he was at Number 10 and there were many questions raised as to whether he had been vetted appropriately to be able to deal with such sensitive security papers. So damaging was the affair that Cameron was forced to issue a "full and frank" apology for hiring Coulson on £140,000 a year, the highest-paid special advisor in the government, and he said just before the jury reached their verdict: "I am extremely sorry that I employed him. It was the wrong decision and I am very clear about that." Cameron made a huge error of judgement appointing Coulson - placing too much trust in a man who turned out to be a liar - and he would love to forget about it, but it's almost certain that it will be brought up at some point on the campaign trail in 2015.