WATCH: Tabloid journalists in the U.K. were accused of phone hacking Hollywood stars, the Royal family and public figures on an industrial scale. The case destroyed careers, and today, even lead to an apology from Britain’s prime minister. Mike Drolet reports.
LONDON – Former News of the World editor Andy Coulson was convicted of phone hacking Tuesday, but fellow editor Rebekah Brooks was acquitted after a monthslong trial centring on illegal activity at the heart of Rupert Murdoch’s newspaper empire.
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A jury on Tuesday unanimously found Coulson, an ex-adviser to Prime Minister David Cameron, guilty of conspiring to intercept communications. Brooks was acquitted of that charge and of counts of bribing officials and obstructing police.
The nearly eight-month trial was triggered by revelations that for years the News of the World used illegal eavesdropping to get stories, listening in on the voicemails of celebrities, politicians and even crime victims.
READ MORE: Kate Middleton’s phone hacked
Three others – Brooks’ husband Charles Brooks, her former secretary Cheryl Carter and News International security chief Mark Hanna – were acquitted of perverting the course of justice by attempting to hide evidence from police.
WATCH: British Prime Minister David Cameron offered an “unreserved” apology for employing Andy Coulson after his former director of communications was found guilty of phone hacking
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