No further action over UK tabloid phone hacking allegations

Prosecution Service says there is insufficient evidence for realistic prospect of convictions

The final episode of the News of The World.
The final episode of the News of The World.

British prosecutors said on Friday they would take no further action against Rupert Murdoch's News UK and 10 people at rival publisher Mirror Group Newspapers over alleged phone hacking.

Reporters on tabloid newspapers have admitted hacking into phones to find stories, a practice that caused uproar when it became public in 2011, resulting in the closure of Murdoch’s News of the World title.

The Crown Prosecution Service said it had brought 12 prosecutions and secured nine convictions for these serious offences over the last three years, but would take no further action.

"After a thorough analysis, we have decided there is insufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of a conviction and therefore no further action will be taken in any of these cases," said Director of Public Prosecutions Alison Saunders.

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“These decisions bring the CPS’s involvement in current investigations into phone hacking to a close.”

Reuters