Re-setting the clock to back-benchers' cheers but questions remain

After a robust parliamentary performance in which he fought back against claims he had been caught out over his links to News International, the Prime Minister received overwhelming backing from the party's 1922 Committee, which met last night to discuss the crisis and greeted his arrival with 40 seconds of table-thumping. It came after instant TV polls suggested public opinion swung in his favour as the lengthy parliamentary session continued yesterday afternoon, with the public seeming to back his declaration that, while he had made mistakes, he was now determined to clear them up.

In the private meeting with MPs, he defended his past actions, refusing to apologise for having courted the media before or since becoming PM, insisting "there is a real opportunity here to re-set the clock to sort out the relationship between politics and the media".

And he told his MPs his actions were "decisive, frank and transparent", insisting it was now time for the government to focus on the eurozone crisis in which, he warned, there was a "lack of leadership".

His defence came after a welter of revelations in the past week which left Mr Cameron in his weakest position since last year's election, and raised the first genuine question marks over his leadership.

First, Downing Street revealed last week that he had held no fewer than 26 meetings with News International executives since entering Downing Street, and had invited his former spin doctor Andy Coulson to Chequers after his resignation.

Then it revealed on Tuesday that Coulson's former deputy Neil Wallis had also supplied him with informal support when he was working for the Conservatives. Like Coulson, Wallis has been arrested over claims of illegal activities at the News of the World.

• Analysis: Delaying tactics saved PM today, but his future still lies in Coulson's hands

Mr Cameron also came under pressure yesterday over why his chief of staff, Ed Llewellyn, had appealed to Scotland Yard not to mention phone hacking during a briefing to Mr Cameron last year when the scandal was beginning to emerge.

Last night, Downing Street published more information about Mr Cameron's actions last year when he was continuing to defend his employment of Coulson. Coulson had told the PM that he had no knowledge of the phone hacking which, it is alleged, took place while he was editing the News of the World.

Downing Street released an exchange of letters from last October between Mr Cameron and Labour MP Tom Watson, who had asked the PM to make a statement about fresh allegations about Coulson's knowledge. In his reply, Mr Cameron curtly dismisses Mr Watson's request insisting it was for the police to decide "whether there is new evidence to consider".

Mr Cameron continued to defend his decision to back Coulson yesterday, insisting that, despite all the allegations, no-one had disputed he had done a good job while working as his director of communications. On his decision to employ Coulson, he said: "I had made a decision. This man had resigned from the News of the World. He gave me an assurance he didn't know about it and I took that decision and that is a judgment I don't run away from."Mr Cameron, however, did concede that his support for Coulson was not shared by Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg who, he said, had "questioned" whether he should allow Coulson into Downing Street.

Asked about claims by former News International chief executive Rebekah Brooks that Coulson's employment was the idea of Chancellor George Osborne, Mr Cameron dismissed it. He said: "I don't believe in politicians running away from decisions they make. I don't do that. The buck stops here."

He added: "I'm very happy to stand on these judgments and let people be the judge"

However, while Mr Cameron appeared to have calmed Tory jitters last night, it is likely he faces plenty more challenges over his past actions and connections to Coulson, with both the public inquiry and a likely criminal investigation due.

Labour MPs sought to focus on three potential areas of weakness yesterday. First, they questioned him about why he had apparently ignored warnings not to take Coulson into Downing Street. Then they focused on what vetting procedures had taken place when Coulson was hired to work for the government, amid claims that the process was lax. Mr Cameron refused to say yesterday which company had carried out the vetting. Labour MPs also sought to question why Mr Cameron had not reviewed his employment of Coulson in September last year when allegations about Coulson's knowledge of phone hacking re-emerged in an article in the New York Times.

It is also likely that Mr Cameron will face questions over what discussions he had with News International over its failed BSkyB bid, in light of his close connections to executives since coming to office. He insisted yesterday that he had no "inappropriate conversations" with its executives. Last night, Ed Miliband said he would publish details of his meetings with media executives since becoming Labour leader last year.