Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has said that the phone hacking scandal should be used as an opportunity to "clean up" the relationship between the press, politicians and police.

Speaking to Evan Davis, Mr Clegg said the episode had "cast a spotlight on that murky world of the British establishment."

"We must now take this opportunity to clean things up and make sure that the public once again trust those institutions".

The scandal "clearly goes beyond News International," he said, and was a "systemic" symptom of a "cosy" establishment.

To change the system, he said, the rules on media plurality should be re-examined and the "entirely toothless" Press Complaints Commission looked at.

But not over-reacting to the crisis was also important, he said, arguing that "it's really quite important that we don't let the free press be undermined by the out-of-control press".

There were "big questions" over whether News International were a fit and proper media organisation, and a basic issue of corporate governance at the company, he said.

"Things always go wrong when you give anyone... a lot of power, and they've got no responsibility to answer for it," he said.