Four journalists have today been told by the Crown Prosecution Service they face conspiracy charges as a result of the Met's Operation Elveden inquiry into payments to public officials.
They are: Greig Box-Turnbull formerly of the Daily Mirror, former Sun managing editor Graham Dudman, Sun Online news editor Vince Soodin and former Sun district reporter John Troup.
Box-Turnbull is the first Trinity Mirror journalist to be charged as a result of police investigations into phone-hacking and payments.
With Dudman, Troup and Soodin – some 13 Sun journalist have now been charged in relation to the Elveden payments probe.
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According to the Crown Prosecution Service Box-Turnbull was charged along with Grant Pizzey, a prison officer at HMP Belmarsh; Desra Reilly, Pizzey’s partner; and Marc Alexander, a former prison officer at HMP Holloway.
Pizzey and Reilly are alleged to have received almost £20,000 from the former Mirror journalist in exchange for more than 40 pieces of information about incidents at the prisson, some of which involved high-profile prisoners, between 2005 and 2012.
Alexander is said to have pocketed £2,700 for information on prisoners at Holloway between 2006 and 2009.
Box-Turnbull is set to face two charges of conspiracy to commit misconduct on public office, one in relation to Pizzey and Reilly and the other to Alexander.
The CPS said its file on Box-Turnbull included allegations against one other individual, but concluded that there was insufficient evidence to bring a conviction.
Dudman is alleged to have requested payments of £3,000 to be made to one or more police officers for details of ongoing investigations.
He is also alleged to have authorised payments to public officials between 2002 and 2007 for information relating to the health of a Broadmoor patient, details of an incident at a hospital and details of an incident relating to army combat.
He further approved a payment request from Troup for information about the death of a prisoner, it is alleged.
Dudman will face three conspiracy charges, while Troup has been charged as co-conspirator on one charge.
Soodin is alleged to have paid £500 to a police officer for information, including contact details for witnesses in police investigations, in 2010.
Darren Jennings, a police officer with Wiltshire Police, has been charged with misconduct in public office for allegedly seeking payment of £10,000 in September 2010 in exchange for information about a police officer facing criminal proceedings, as well as information about other individuals in custody at the time.
Alan Ostler, a former assistant technical instructor at Broadmoor Hospital, is alleged to have provided information to journalists from The Sun and Daily Mirror about patients and incidents at the hospital in 2008. It is alleged that he received £900 from the Daily Mirror in exchange for information. He also faces a misconduct in public office charge.
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