UK's Cameron says sorry he hired ex-media chief guilty of phone-hacking

LONDON, June 24 (Reuters) - British Prime Minister David Cameron said on Tuesday he was wrong to hire Andy Coulson as his media chief in 2007 after Coulson, an ex-editor of a Rupert Murdoch tabloid, was found guilty of being part of a phone-hacking conspiracy.

Political opponents have long questioned Cameron's judgment in taking on Coulson after he resigned the editorship of Murdoch's now defunct News of the World newspaper when two of its employees were jailed for phone-hacking.

In a pre-recorded clip to British TV, Cameron said he made a "full and frank" apology for hiring Coulson.

"I'm extremely sorry that I employed him, it was the wrong decision," said the British leader.

(Reporting by William James and Kylie MacLellan; Editing by Andrew Osborn)