British Prime Minister David Cameron. — Photo by AP

LONDON: Prime Minister David Cameron is cutting short an African trade tour to fly back to Britain to take control of an inquiry into the phone-hacking scandal that has led to the resignation of the country's top policeman, media reported on Monday.

The Guardian said Cameron had halved the tour's length to two days from four, and will only visit South Africa and Nigeria. Plans to visit Sudan and Rwanda have been cancelled, it said.

The prime minister will fly home on Tuesday to allow him to finalise the arrangements for Lord Justice Leveson's inquiry into the media, the newspaper said.

The Financial Times said the prime minister was returning to Britain to fend off criticism that he was out of the country in the midst of the scandal.

It cited a source close to the prime minister as saying that the Africa trip had been shortened to enable him to focus on events closer to home.

“There are quite a few pressing things going on,” the source told the FT.