Vince Cable on Telegraph recording: “I thought about resigning”

Business secretary Vince Cable had thought about resigning following the exposés by the Daily Telegraph on comments he made while being secretly recorded by undercover journalists, the BBC reported today.

Cable was stripped of the responsibility for making a decision over News Corp’s bid for BSkyB following the comments he made, which included him saying he had “declared war on Mr Murdoch”.

Cable was being recorded by the reporters, who posed as Lib Dem voters in his constituency. The Press Complaints Commission said in January it would be investigating the “use of subterfuge”.

Asked by BBC World At One, broadcast today, reporter Becky Milligan if he had thought at the time that he should resign Cable said he had “certainly thought about it”.

The people who I’m closest to and have the most respect for, including my own family of course, thought that wasn’t the right thing to do.

… That six weeks or so was quite dreadful. You’re under a lot of pressure, political and emotional, you discover you’re friends.

Later asked if David Cameron and Nick Clegg were supportive he said they wanted to keep him in the government, but “were not happy about what had happened”.

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