Politics Weekly podcast: Jeremy Hunt, U-turns and the republican's guide to the jubilee

Jeremy Hunt put in a six-hour shift in front of the Leveson inquiry this week and survived with his job intact despite the airing of a series of potentially embarrasing text messages between himself and News Corp employees in the period before and during the company's bid for BSkyB. David Cameron backed his culture secretary and has refused to refer his case to the adviser on the ministerial code, which some experts claim Hunt has breached. Meanwhile, George Osborne had a rethink on some of the contentious policies he put forward in this year's budget. There were U-turns on the "pasty tax", on VAT for caravans and on the tax status of charitable donations. In the studio to discuss all of this: Guardian columnists Martin Kettle and Jonathan Freedland and the Observer's Nick Cohen . Also this week, we prepare for the Queen's diamond jubilee with a discussion of how republicans can respond to the fact that the monarchy is enjoying record levels of support. Could any elected head of state possibly enjoy such stratospheric poll numbers after 60 years in office? Leave your thoughts below.