LONDON, (Reuters) – A former newspaper executive whose emails led to the exposure of widespread phone-hacking at Rupert Murdoch’s now-defunct British tabloid, the News of the World, was jailed for eight months yesterday.
Ian Edmondson, 45, worked as news editor on the paper, which was closed three years ago when revelations about the extent of criminal activity became public, sending shockwaves through Murdoch’s News Corp and the British establishment.
Edmondson admitted last month conspiring with colleagues to illegally access voicemails, and has been linked to 334 hacking cases, with the victims including actors Jude Law and Sienna Miller and musician Paul McCartney.
“I accept … there was considerable pressure on journalists at the News of the World to obtain stories to sell newspapers,” said the judge, John Saunders. “That may have led to a belief that the ends justified the means.”
Edmondson is the eighth person from what was once Britain’s biggest-selling paper to have been convicted of involvement in the widespread hacking of phones to find exclusive stories about politicians, celebrities, members of the royal family and others.
