Leveson sketch: Memo to Mr Cameron - you've got problems - Telegraph.co.uk

This wasn't "schmoozing", Mr Michel assured the court. He was merely being "friendly".

Mr Michel is French, but from his accent you might assume he was an Englishman, pretending. He spoke with an accent Peter Sellers would have been proud of. He pronounced Ofcom as "Oeufcom", as if its duty were to regulate eggs.

Finally it was Mr Smith's turn. The court was shown a memo Mr Hunt had written to the Prime Minister, saying that if the BSkyB deal didn't go through "our media sector will suffer for years", and that it would be "totally wrong to cave in" to the bid's opponents.

That memo was written in November 2010. A month later, the Prime Minister put Mr Hunt in charge of deciding on the bid. This was a quasi-judicial role, to be filled by someone disinterested.

The Leveson Inquiry sometimes feels like one long tale of memory loss, but this appointment suggests amnesia on a remarkable scale. Can it really be that within just a few weeks David Cameron forgot what Mr Hunt had said in his memo?

For much of the questioning, Mr Smith turned a deep shade of pink. But his ordeal has scarcely begun. He faces more questions tomorrow. Mr Cameron, it seems, has some questions to answer too.