View all newsletters
Sign up for our free email newsletters

Fighting for quality news media in the digital age.

  1. Media Law
April 17, 2015updated 20 Apr 2015 1:28pm

‘They’ve put honest journalists through hell’ – Sun’s Millard and Malinsky slam police after Elveden acquittals

By Dominic Ponsford

 

Sun reporter Neil Millard (pictured PA) says his life has been a “bad dream” ever since eight police officers from the Met's Operation Elveden launched a dawn raid on his family home in the summer 2012.

Life since then has, he says, been like an “out of body experience” involving a level of stress which he finds difficult to put into words.

Millard was today cleared at the Old Bailey, along with Sun night news editor Brandon Malinsky and former Daily Mirror journalist Graham Brough,of conspiracy to commit misconduct in public office.

They were all accused of involvement in paying public officials for stories.

The jury also cleared Sun reporter Tom Wells of two charges  but failed to reach a verdict on another count.

Millard spoke to Press Gazette outside court before the news broke that the CPS was scrapping the planned prosecutions of nine journalists in the wake of today’s Old Bailey verdicts. Three trials of journalists accused over payments to public officials are still set to go ahead.

Content from our partners
MHP Group's 30 To Watch awards for young journalists open for entries
How PA Media is helping newspapers make the digital transition
Publishing on the open web is broken, how generative AI could help fix it

Millard said: “It’s a massive relief, my family and I have lived through three years of hell. The stress has been like nothing I’ve experienced before. To have that pressure over such a long period is not something you would wish on your worst enemy.

“None of these cases should have come to court. People have been dragged through a huge ordeal for doing nothing more than their jobs.

“My sincere hope is that somebody in the CPS sees sense and bins every single pending trial that’s left.”

His ordeal began with a raid on the home he shares with his wife in June 2012 at 5.50am in the morning.

At the time she was seven months pregnant and in tears as officers went through all his and her private belongings.

He said: “When this began I was recently married and my wife was pregnant. I now have two young girls, the oldest is two and a half. I credit the children with actually getting me through this.

"I’m 33, Operation Elveden has taken one fifth of my adult life.

“All I wanted to do was work for the biggest and best newspaper in Britain. The only crime I am guilty of is ambition.”

Asked about the strength of the evidence against him, he said: “There were public interest elements to every single story that went before the court in this trial. The problem for the police and the defence is that we all went to court and gave evidence before we knew what this law really went.”

Last month, in the middle of the Millard's trial, the Court of Appeal quashed the first trial conviction of a journalist for conspiracy to commit misconduct in public office. The court found that the trial judge had misdirected the jury about the high level of seriousness needed in order to convict.

Millard said: “We can’t have a situation in this country were you can unknowingly commit a crime doing what people have done for decades before you in industry custom and practice which is old as the hills. It makes no sense."

Sun night news editor Malinsky also spoke to Press Gazette after leaving court in the wake of his acquittal.

He said: "These charges should never have been brought to court. The police and the Crown Prosecution Service should hang their heads in shame.

"They’ve put honest journalists through hell.

"They need to stop all these prosecutions now and concentrate on arresting real criminal not journalists.

"We have had police officers stood at the back of the court every day for eight weeks watching this. I think the British taxpayer would rather they were out on the streets rather than trying to convict honest journalists. .

“For the sake of my colleagues they need to stop the outstanding Operation Elveden prosecutions.”

Email pged@pressgazette.co.uk to point out mistakes, provide story tips or send in a letter for publication on our "Letters Page" blog

Select and enter your email address Weekly insight into the big strategic issues affecting the future of the news industry. Essential reading for media leaders every Thursday. Your morning brew of news about the world of news from Press Gazette and elsewhere in the media. Sent at around 10am UK time. Our weekly does of strategic insight about the future of news media aimed at US readers. A fortnightly update from the front-line of news and advertising. Aimed at marketers and those involved in the advertising industry.
  • Business owner/co-owner
  • CEO
  • COO
  • CFO
  • CTO
  • Chairperson
  • Non-Exec Director
  • Other C-Suite
  • Managing Director
  • President/Partner
  • Senior Executive/SVP or Corporate VP or equivalent
  • Director or equivalent
  • Group or Senior Manager
  • Head of Department/Function
  • Manager
  • Non-manager
  • Retired
  • Other
Visit our privacy Policy for more information about our services, how New Statesman Media Group may use, process and share your personal data, including information on your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications.
Thank you

Thanks for subscribing.

Websites in our network