Phone Hacking: Ex-NOTW Deputy Not Guilty

Former News of the World deputy editor Neil Wallis has been found not guilty of being part of the phone hacking plot at the paper.

Mr Wallis, who broke down in tears when the verdict was announced, was accused of being part of the scandal which caused the Sunday tabloid to shut down in 2011.

Speaking outside court, Mr Wallis said the case, part of what he claimed was a "politically-driven campaign", had "ruined" his life, and added: "I just want to say I will never get over this.

"I've been virtually unable to work for four years.

"It's taken my health, my family's health and all because of a campaign against journalists."

A jury at the Old Bailey spent four days deliberating before finding the 64-year-old, of Chiswick, west London, not guilty of conspiring to hack phones.

Mr Wallis, who was former editor Andy Coulson's right-hand man from 2003 to 2007, is the last of the journalists from the newspaper to face legal action over the hacking it carried out in the search for exclusive stories on celebrities, royals and politicians.

The prosecution said it was inconceivable he did not know what was happening since his boss and a number of journalists in the newsroom had all been convicted of their involvement.

Among the high-profile figures targeted by the newspaper were princes William and Harry during their training at Sandhurst.

Former home secretary David Blunkett's secret affair with a married woman came to light through hacking, as did actress Sienna Miller's alleged fling with James Bond star Daniel Craig.

The scandal emerged in 2006 when royal correspondent Clive Goodman and private investigator Glenn Mulcaire were found guilty of hacking.

Three years later features writer Dan Evans was caught listening to voicemails of Ms Miller's former stepmother Kelly Hoppen.

In 2011, the NOTW was shut down by Rupert Murdoch in the wake of outrage over the fact that missing schoolgirl Milly Dowler's phone was hacked, which took place before Mr Wallis was deputy.

Since the newspaper closed, a total of eight journalists, including Coulson, have been convicted of being part of the hacking plot.

Mr Wallis' trial heard that in the summer of 2004, the paper broke the story of Mr Blunkett's affair with a married woman - referred to at the NOTW by the codenames Noddy and Big Ears.

At the time, Mr Wallis was on holiday in France, but telephone conversations with his boss suggested he "must have been involved" too, prosecutor Julian Christopher QC said.

The following year, the paper published an article about Ms Miller's alleged fling with her Layer Cake co-star Craig after Evans picked up a message from her to him saying: "Hi, it's me. I can't speak, I'm at the Groucho with Jude. I love you."

After hearing the message, Evans claimed Mr Wallis told him: "You're a company man now".

In April 2006, Goodman wrote a story about Prince William's "drunken conduct" based on a hacked message from Sandhurst commandant Major General Andrew Ritchie to royal aide Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton.

The Old Bailey heard Mr Wallis emailed Goodman about the article, asking: "Remind me how we know this to be true."

In his defence, Mr Wallis denied being involved in hacking, saying he was not concerned with the details of the sources of big stories after they had already been vetted by company lawyers.

He told the court that at the time Mr Blunkett's affair was exposed through hacking, Coulson had misled him into believing the information had instead come from a well-placed source.