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April 21, 2015updated 27 Apr 2015 7:04pm

Elveden undone: The collapse of the investigation into payments by journalists to public officials

By Dominic Ponsford

Nearly four years after Operation Elveden was launched, the Met Police investigation into payments to public officials by journalists has largely collapsed.

While 21 public officials have been convicted (according to the CPS), only one journalist conviction stands out of 34 who have been arrested and/or charged. Three journalists are still set to face trial.

The effect on individual journalists caught up in the inquiry has been devastating in many cases. The cost to the taxpayer is in the tens of millions. The chilling effect on freedom of expression is ongoing.

The turning point was a Court of Appeal decision released on 27 March which quashed the first conviction of a journalist and resulted in new guidelines being drafted by the Crown Prosecution Service.

Read all Press Gazette's coverage of the recent criminal trials involving journalists here.

Below is a round-up of the latest dramatic developments in Operation Elveden:

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