Mr Clegg told Andrew Marr the work of government would not be impeded by Mr Coulson’s departure
Nick Clegg has denied the government has been damaged by the row surrounding the departure of No 10 director of communications Andy Coulson.
Mr Coulson is to step down amid continuing allegations regarding phone hacking at the News of the World.
He has denied knowledge of the practice when he was editor and Mr Clegg said he “had no reason to disbelieve him”.
But Labour’s deputy leader Harriet Harman said David Cameron was “wrong” to employ him in the first place.
The process of finding a replacement for Mr Coulson – who first joined Mr Cameron’s inner circle in 2007 when the Conservatives were in opposition – is under way after he indicated his intention to stand down in the next couple of weeks.
Labour have questioned Mr Cameron’s judgement in retaining Mr Coulson in the high-profile role amid continuing allegations of illegal interception of voice messages by News of the World journalists during Mr Coulson’s time as editor.
Mr Coulson has repeatedly denied any involvement in or knowledge of such activities but said on Friday he would step down as continuing media coverage of the issue “made it difficult for me to give the 110% needed in this role”.
Asked whether Mr Coulson’s departure was a blow for the coalition, the deputy prime minister said he believed the government would not “miss a beat” in pressing ahead with its agenda of securing the economic recovery and public sector and constitutional changes.
“For all David Cameron talks about trust in politics, it is fundamental that people obey the criminal law and that is what is at stake here”
Harriet Harman Deputy Labour leader
And he defended Mr Cameron’s handling of the issue and his decision to appoint Mr Coulson in the first place after he resigned as editor of the newspaper in 2007.
“If you listen to what David Cameron has said,” he told BBC One’s Andrew Marr show, “he said very emphatically that he thought it was right to give Andy Coulson a second chance.
“Andy Coulson has been very clear that he was not in any way responsible for phone hacking and had no knowledge of it. I have no reason to disbelieve him.”
And Mr Clegg said he would have some input into the choice of who would replace Mr Coulson.
“It is primarily a decision for the prime minister, he is the prime minister’s spokesman but he is also responsible for communicating government policy so of course I will play a role as well.”
However, Labour said David Cameron could not escape responsibility for bringing Mr Coulson into his top team when there were unresolved questions about his past.
“I think that David Cameron was wrong to appoint someone to the heart of the government, to the heart of Downing Street, who had actually been editor of a newspaper at a time when criminal activity was going on,” Harriet Harman, the party’s deputy leader, told Sky News.
While acknowledging that Mr Coulson had denied any involvement in phone hacking, she added the issue risked further eroding public confidence in politics.
“For all David Cameron talks about trust in politics, it is fundamental that people obey the criminal law and that is what is at stake here,” she added.
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