LONDON — A former Rupert Murdoch newspaper editor who later became a spokesman for British Prime Minister David Cameron testified Thursday at a government-backed probe into the British press.

Andy Coulson was quizzed over his leadership of the paper and its support for politicians, as questioning at the Leveson Inquiry hearing started.

The inquiry was set up in response to accusations of widespread phone hacking by journalists working for the News of the World, which was edited by Coulson from 2003 until his resignation in 2007.

Critics have questioned Cameron’s judgment in hiring Coulson after he quit the paper.

Coulson said discussion of the jailing of two News of the World employees over phone hacking in 2007 did come up in discussions with senior party members before he was offered the job.

He told the inquiry he had told them and Cameron what he has said repeatedly — that he knew nothing about the practice of hacking under his leadership of the paper.

Asked about his relationship with Murdoch, chairman of News Corp., Coulson said the media baron would often call on a Saturday night, shortly before the newspaper’s publication Sunday.

“We discussed politics generally. He would give me his views on whatever was in the news at the time,” Coulson said.

Coulson said Murdoch was supportive of him as an editor.

“I was an employee, and I thoroughly enjoyed my time working for him. In the interactions I had with him, he was warm and supportive,” Coulson said. “I wasn’t particularly close to him, I wouldn’t want to overstate it.”

Coulson said the newspaper tended to reflect the public mood on politics rather than try to lead it, except on certain issues.

Coulson said the decision to support Labour Prime Minister Tony Blair in the 2005 election was taken in conjunction with the News of the World’s editorial team.

He said he did not recall discussing the paper’s support for the Labour Party with Murdoch.

“I was determined we would spend a reasonable amount of time with politicians from both parties and make up our own minds,” he said.

The paper’s coverage of the Conservative Party leadership contest, which resulted in Cameron becoming party leader, was not skewed in favor of any of the candidates, Coulson said.

Asked if the News of World’s coverage of the Conservative Party grew more favorable after Cameron became leader, Coulson pointed out that the paper had run stories that did not help the party.

Coulson resigned as editor when one of its journalists and a private investigator were sent to prison for phone hacking in 2007, although he denied knowing about the illegal eavesdropping.

Six months later, he was hired to work for Cameron as his director of communications.

Coulson said the progression from the media world to politics was not unusual.

The phone hacking scandal has reverberated throughout the top levels of British politics and journalism, and led a parliamentary committee to issue damning criticism of global media baron Murdoch.

Dozens of people, including Coulson, have been arrested in connection with the scandal, although no one has been charged. He is free on bail.

He quit as Cameron’s spokesman in 2011 when police opened a new investigation into the scandal. He insisted that he was innocent but said he had become a distraction for the government.

Another former News of the World editor, Rebekah Brooks, is set to appear before the inquiry Friday.

Brooks resigned last summer as chief executive of News of the World’s publisher, News International, a subsidiary of News Corp., amid outrage over claims of widespread hacking by the Sunday tabloid’s staff.

She was editor of News of the World in 2002 when the newspaper hacked the voicemail of a missing schoolgirl, Milly Dowler. The teenager was later found dead.

Brooks has been arrested twice and released on bail in connection with police investigations into the scandal.

Brooks is known for her close ties to Murdoch. She and her husband, racehorse trainer Charlie Brooks, have also socialized with Cameron.

Last month, the independent, government-appointed Leveson Inquiry grilled Rupert Murdoch and his son James Murdoch, also a senior News Corp. executive.

Rupert Murdoch faced stinging criticism last week when a UK parliamentary committee examining phone hacking at the News of the World said he was “not a fit person” to run a major international company.

However, News Corp.’s board of directors strongly endorsed him Wednesday, expressing “full confidence in Rupert Murdoch’s fitness” and supporting his leadership of the company.

— CNN’s Laura Perez Maestro contributed to this report.