Andy Coulson, a former aide of British Prime Minister David Cameron, was on Friday sentenced to 18 months in jail for his involvement in the highly controversial phone-hacking scandal that rocked Rupert Murdoch’s media empire here and brought down his popular tabloid.
Coulson, 46, who previously served as Communications Chief of Cameron, was handed down the sentence at the Old Bailey court in london alongside three other former News of The World colleagues.
Former Chief reporter Neville Thurlbeck, 52, and ex-news editor Greg Miskiw, 64, were jailed for six months.
Journalist James Weatherup received a suspended four-month sentence and community service while private detective Glenn Mulcaire, 43, received six-month suspended sentences. The four received shorter sentences because they had pleaded guilty.
Members of the British royal family, celebrities and crime victims were among some of the victims of hacking at the now defunct News of the World (NoW).
Coulson, one of the seven defendants in the high-profile phone-hacking trial, was found guilty of plotting to intercept voicemails between 2000 and 2006 for stories in the tabloid following a marathon eight-month trial.