BBC News with Iain Purdon

A second senior police officer has resigned in Britain in connection with the scandal over phone hacking and alleged corruption in the Rupert Murdoch newspaper empire. Assistant Commissioner John Yates stood down 24 hours after his boss, Britain's top police commander Paul Stephenson. Naomi Grimley reports.

John Yates said his resignation was a matter of "deep regret", but the

ongoing

phone-hacking scandal was becoming a distraction from his job leading Scotland Yard's counter-terrorism unit. He said he'd been a victim of some

malicious

gossip and speculation. Earlier, details had emerged of his links with a former News of the World journalist, who'd been hired as a media

consultant

for the Metropolitan Police. Meanwhile, David Cameron is leaving his tour of Africa early in order to deal with the ongoing crisis, and parliament is to delay its summer holiday too to discuss the matter further.

A former reporter who made allegations of widespread phone hacking by the newspaper at the centre of the scandal, the News of the World, has been found dead at his home near London. Police say they are not treating his death as suspicious. With more details, here's June Kelly.

Sean Hoare was a show-business reporter for the News of the World when Andy Coulson was editor. He was the first journalist to claim that Andy Coulson knew about phone hacking on the paper. Mr Coulson, who's always denied the claim, was arrested recently. Police were called to Sean Hoare's home in Watford this morning, and he was pronounced dead shortly afterwards. Police said the death was currently being treated as unexplained but not thought to be suspicious. Sean Hoare had drink and drugs problems, and was said to be in poor physical health.