‘Dozens' of emails between Rebekah Brooks and David Cameron were 'withheld' from the Leveson Inquiry

Number 10 reportedly kept ‘dozens’ of messages between the Prime Minister and the former News International editor and chief executive from getting into the public domain.

The withheld emails also included messages to former Number 10 communications director Andy Coulson while he was still employed by Rupert Murdoch. But Number 10 say they believed the emails would not have been ‘relevant’ to Lord Leveson’s inquiry into press standards, reports the Daily Mail.

A Downing Street spokeswoman said: ‘In common with previous prime ministers, the PM sought legal advice in order to co-operate fully with a judicial inquiry.’

Labour MP Chris Bryant, who was a victim of phone hacking, called for the emails to be released. He told The Independent: ‘If the Prime Minister has taken any steps to prevent any material, relevant or not, whether texts, emails or notes of conversations between David Cameron and Rebekah Brooks, Andy Coulson and News International – from coming into the public domain, then people will think this is yet another instance of the Prime Minister being less than straightforward with the country.’

The revelations came as it emerged that Rebekah Brooks had secured a £7million pay off when she resigned from the company. She had embarrassed the PM earlier in the inquiry when she revealed he signed his texts with lol - the acronym for laugh out loud - as he thought it stood for 'lots of love'.

 Last night Number 10 said ‘no further relevant material had been found’.