Showing posts with label Mr Justice Saunders. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mr Justice Saunders. Show all posts

Tuesday, 8 July 2014

Andy Coulson Sentenced to 18 Months Imprisonment Over Phone Hacking

Introduction

Last Friday the hacking trial culminated in the sentencing of Andy Coulson and four other individuals for conspiracy to hack phones.

The 46 year old, who had served as the editor of the News of the World and as Director of Communications for Prime Minister David Cameron, was found guilty at the Old Bailey in June. For more information, see this earlier article.

Coulson was sentenced alongside four ex-journalists at the tabloid, as well as private investigator Glenn Mulcaire. They had all pleaded guilty to conspiracy to hack phones.

 The sentences were as follows:

- Coulson, 46, of Canterbury – 18 months imprisonment.
- Former chief reporter Neville Thurlbeck, 52, of Esher, Surrey – six months imprisonment.
- Former news editor Greg Miskiw, 64, of Leeds – six months imprisonment.
- Private investigator Glenn Mulcaire, 43, of Sutton, Surrey – six months imprisonment suspended for twelve months with 200 hours of unpaid work (community service).
- Former reporter James Weatherup, 58, of Brentwood, Essex – four months imprisonment suspended for twelve months with 200 hours of unpaid work.

Sentencing Remarks

Sentencing the group, the judge, Mr Justice Saunders, said there was ‘a very great deal of phone hacking while Andy Coulson was editor’. It was ‘unforgivable’ how the News of the World had acted in relation to phone of murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler. The defendants were all respected journalists whose careers were now ‘irreparably damaged’. Andy Coulson had to take ‘the major share of the blame for the hacking at the News of the World’. It was no defence, and no mitigation, that the individuals did not know they were behaving criminally; they all knew hacking was morally wrong.

Specifically in relation to Coulson, Mr Justice Saunders, said that the starting point for his sentence would be two years, the maximum sentence for the offence (on which, see below), because of the quantity of phone hacking he was involved in and because he was the editor controlling the investigative methods used by his reporters. However, that would be reduced by six months to reflect his former good character and that there had been delay in the matter coming to trial for which he was not responsible.

The Offence

The group were convicted of conspiracy to hack phones or, more technically, conspiracy to intercept communications in the course of their transmission.

This is an offence under section 1(1) of the Criminal Law Act 1977. Section 1(1) of the 1977 provides it is an offence for a person to agree with others to follow a course of conduct which, if it is carried out as they intended, would involve an offence being committed. In essence, it is planning to carry out another offence.

The offence that was planned and committed was the unlawful interception of communications, or ‘hacking’, under section 1 of the Regulation of the Investigatory Powers Act 2000. This provides it is an offence for a person to intentionally intercept communications in the course of their transmission without lawful authority.

Under section 3 of the 1977 Act, the maximum sentence for conspiracy is the maximum sentence of the offence planned. The maximum sentence for unlawful interception is two years imprisonment under section 1(7) of the 2000 Act. Thus the maximum sentence for conspiracy here was two years imprisonment.

Notes on the Sentence

Having been sentenced to imprisonment for 18 months Coulson will be entitled to be released on licence after serving one half of the sentence, under section 244 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003. So long as he complies with the licence conditions he will not then return to prison. However, it is likely that he will be released even sooner than the halfway point of his sentence under the Home Detention Curfew scheme, in accordance with section 246 of the 2003 Act. Under this scheme, Coulson will be subject to a curfew and electronically monitored (known as ‘tagging’). The scheme is designed to help the reintegration of prisoners back in to society.

What are your thoughts on the sentence?