UK phone hacking scandal: Ex-News of the World editor Coulson to be sentenced

Former News of the World editor Andy Coulson is due to be sentenced after being found guilty of conspiracy to hack phones.

Coulson, who went on to become director of communications for Prime Minister David Cameron, will be sentenced with three other former News of the World journalists, reports the BBC.

Forty-six-year-old Coulson will be sentenced alongside former news editor Greg Miskiw, former chief reporter Neville Thurlbeck and ex-reporter James Weatherup, all of whom admitted conspiring to hack phones.

Glenn Mulcaire, the former private investigator they tasked with hacking, pleaded guilty and is also due to be sentenced. Former reporter Dan Evans, who also admitted phone hacking, will be sentenced separately later this month.

Royals, celebrities and crime victims were among those whose phones were hacked by reporters at the tabloid.

Coulson was one of seven defendants in the high-profile phone-hacking trial.

He denied the charges against him, but was found guilty of plotting to intercept voicemails between 2000 and 2006. He faces a maximum of two years in prison.

Five defendants on trial at the Old Bailey, including former News International chief Rebekah Brooks, were cleared of all charges last week.

Meanwhile, Coulson and the newspaper's former royal editor Clive Goodman face a retrial on a charge of buying royal telephone directories from police officers after the jury failed to reach a verdict on these charges.