Rebel Conservative MPs plan to refer Andy Coulson, David Cameron’s chief spin doctor, to the party’s sleaze watchdog over his role in the illegal phone hacking row.

Some Tory backbenchers believe Cameron took an excessively tough stance on the expenses scandal. Now they hope to exploit the row over Coulson, the former News of the World editor who resigned when the paper was caught hacking into royal aides’ phones.

Yesterday, Lord Tebbit lent his voice to the Tory rebels. “Cameron has talked a lot about ‘detoxifying’ the Conservative brand,” he said. “Perhaps he should now think about a ‘detoxification’ of his own office.”

Coulson is expected to be questioned by the Commons culture committee about the new allegations – denied by the paper – that the News of the World hacked into the phones of public figures.

A senior Tory MP said: “Whatever the culture committee ends up saying, we will refer Coulson to the Conservative party’s ethics and integrity committee.”

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