CPS presses ahead with retrial of prison officer whose newspaper leak conviction was overturned last week

The Crown Prosecution Service is to press ahead with a retrial of a prison officer whose conviction on a charge of leaking stories to newspapers was overturned by the Court of Appeal last week.

The Lord Chief Justice, Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd, sitting in a special hearing of the Court of Appeal yesterday, gave the CPS permission to go ahead with a retrial.

But the CPS said it had concluded that it was not in the public interest to seek a retrial of the prison officer's co-defendants, one who was a friend, and the other a former News of the World journalist.

None of these individuals – all of whose convictions were quashed last week – can be named for legal reasons.

The CPS confirmed that it was performing a major review of cases related to leaks to newspapers following last week's Court of Appeal judgment.

The court heard that the prison officer had served three-and-a-half months of a 42-month sentence and was released from jail when his conviction was overturned last week.

It was also told he had had a "very difficult" time in prison because of his previous job, and while at Belmarsh spent 23 hours a day in his cell, and could not take part in any activities.

The CPS has until 24 April to decide to review all remaining trials of journalists brought as a result of Scotland Yard's Operation Elveden investigation into payments for stories by newspapers.