Court Hears Andy Coulson Knew Of Phone Hacking

A former royal editor of the News Of The World has told a court that former Downing Street director of communications Andy Coulson knew he was hacking phones.

Clive Goodman, 57, told Coulson's perjury trial at the High Court in Edinburgh that he had accessed voicemail messages using the PIN numbers for mobile phones.

He was asked if Coulson, who was editor of the News Of The World at the time, knew he was accessing voicemails when he started the practice in 2004-2005.

He answered: "No".

When asked by advocate-depute Richard Godden if that changed in the months ahead, he replied: "Yes, it did."

Mr Coulson denies charges that he lied during the perjury trial of former MSP Tommy Sheridan on 2010.

He is accused of lying under oath when he said he didn't know that Goodman and private investigator Glenn Mulcaire were engaged together in phone hacking and that he didn't know Mulcaire or that he was employed by the News Of The World.

He is also accused of falsely claiming that he didn't know about payments by the newspaper to corrupt police officers.

Goodman and Mulcaire have previously been convicted of phone-hacking in 2006.

Giving evidence in court, Goodman told of how he came to know Mulcaire as a man who could "crack seemingly uncrackable stories very quickly".

He said that in October 2005 he was contacted by Mulcaire, who complained that the News Of The World newsdesk had cut his budget by £500 and he wanted to make up the shortfall.

Mulcaire suggested a deal for £500 a week: if Goodman could provide him with a few names of people around the Royal Family, he could help to access their voicemails.

Goodman said he was to bring to the table key figures around the young Princes and identify who they were.

He testified that he went to Coulson to arrange payment through its editorial management budget. In Coulson's office he outlined the proposal from Mulcaire, what results the newspaper might get from it, how much it might cost.

It was agreed that payments would go to Mulcaire under the assumed name of "Alexander", though Goodman said Coulson was worried about the cost and try agreed to do it for a trial period and review it after a month.

Goodman said the issue of a breach to the privacy of people who were going to be hacked "didn't come up" and that there was no talk as to whether or not it was legal.

"I wasn't aware it was illegal," he said. "We didn't have a conversation as to whether it was illegal."

When asked if the arrangement yielded any stories, Goodman cited one story of Prince William getting drunk at Sandhurst Military College and being told to go to bed early by a senior officer.

He said another related to Prince Harry, while at Sandhurst, leaving a message asking his aide for assistance with an essay. He said he showed Coulson a transcript of the phone message.

Goodman said that after Coulson took over as News Of The World editor, personnel changes led to a change in atmosphere. The paper became more fractious, he said. It was always competitive but now it was hyper-competitive.

He said he was treated very aggressively by the news editor Ian Edmondson.

"I'd gone from being my own boss to a boss who didn't rate me, didn't want me and resented everything I came up with."

The trial continues.