David Cameron has acknowledged in private that he may be sitting on a further cache of emails and texts to and from Rebekah Brooks after a highly selective search was carried out for the Leveson inquiry.

The prime minister faced fresh embarrassment over his links with the former News International chief executive as it emerged that only a handful of his communications were searched for the inquiry, set up after the phone hacking scandal.

Cameron's aides looked only for emails and texts related to two specific areas highlighted by the inquiry - News International and BSkyB.

The prime minister believes it is wrong of critics, such as the former Labour Europe minister Chris Bryant, to say that he is sitting on a secret cache of communications because any emails and texts uncovered in the search were handed to the inquiry. But he acknowledges that a wider search may yield more texts and emails between the two.