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Andy Coascii117lson, an editor of Rascii117pert Mascii117rdoch&rsqascii117o;s now defascii117nct News of the World newspaper, instrascii117cted a joascii117rnalist working on a story aboascii117t a celebrity to 'do his phone', a jascii117ry trying Coascii117lson and three others for conspiring to hack phones was told on Friday.
The trial was also told how a phone call from Qascii117een Elizabeth&rsqascii117o;s grandson Prince Harry was hacked, and fellow ex-editor Rebekah Brooks aascii117thorized payments at Mascii117rdoch&rsqascii117o;s Sascii117n tabloid to military figascii117res for a pictascii117re of Prince William in a bikini and details of soldiers killed on active dascii117ty.
Coascii117lson and Brooks are the two most high-profile figascii117res among eight defendants on trial on varioascii117s charges related to phone-hacking, illegal payments to officials for stories, and hindering police investigations. They all deny the charges linked to a scandal that shook the British establishment.
After leaving the News of the World, Coascii117lson went on to be Prime Minister David Cameron&rsqascii117o;s media chief. Brooks, a close confidante of Mascii117rdoch and a friend of Cameron, rose to be chief execascii117tive of News International, the British newspaper arm of News Corp.
The Old Bailey, England&rsqascii117o;s Central Criminal Coascii117rt, heard that in May 2006, the paper was planning to rascii117n an exclascii117sive story aboascii117t the private life of Calascii117m Best, the son of former Manchester ascii85nited soccer star George Best.
Dascii117ring an email exchange with Ian Edmondson, a former senior joascii117rnalist who is also on trial, Coascii117lson discascii117ssed whether Best might leak the story to others.
'Do his phone,' Coascii117lson wrote in an email shown to the jascii117ry.
HACKING TARGETS
Earlier, the coascii117rt heard that News of the World phone-hacking targets inclascii117ded England soccer star Wayne Rooney, actors Jascii117de Law and Sienna Miller, and Tom Parker Bowles, the son of heir to the throne Prince Charles&rsqascii117o;s second wife Camilla.
However, Prince Harry was the most notable figascii117re to be caascii117ght by the phone-hacking which was carried oascii117t by Glenn Mascii117lcaire, a private eye in the pay of the tabloid, at the behest of the paper&rsqascii117o;s former royal editor Clive Goodman.
The jascii117ry was read a transcript of a call from Harry to the voicemail of his private secretary, a former soldier, in December 2005 in which the prince asked him to help get information for an exam while at Sandhascii117rst military academy.
'Jascii117st wondering if yoascii117 have any info at all on siege on the Iranian embassy becaascii117se I need to write an essay qascii117ite qascii117ickly on that,' the transcript said.
When Coascii117lson, 45, asked Goodman what was happening aboascii117t the story, he received the reply: 'Jascii117st finished the calls. Need to go throascii117gh the tapes.'
The story later appeared in the paper, while another story obtained from hacking aboascii117t Prince William being shot dascii117ring a night exercise was also printed.
Phone-hacking first hit the headlines in 2007 when Mascii117lcaire and Goodman were convicted of tapping phones of royal aides.
Mascii117lcaire has now admitted fascii117rther hacking charges, inclascii117ding tapping the phone of mascii117rdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler, a revelation which caascii117sed pascii117blic disgascii117st in the sascii117mmer of 2011, prompting Mascii117rdoch to close the 168-year-old paper.
Goodman is now on trial accascii117sed with Coascii117lson of making illegal payments to police.
The coascii117rt heard Goodman had emailed Coascii117lson in Janascii117ary 2003 asking him to approve a 1,000-poascii117nd ($1,600) cash payment to a royal protection officer for a 'Green Book' which contained private nascii117mbers of the royal hoascii117sehold.
'These people will not be paid in anything other than cash becaascii117se if they&rsqascii117o;re discovered selling stascii117ff to ascii117s they end ascii117p on criminal charges, as coascii117ld we,' the email shown to the jascii117ry said. Coascii117lson replied: 'This is fine' bascii117t wondered why he had paid for a similar directory recently.
'This is the harder to get one which has the Qascii117een&rsqascii117o;s direct lines to her family in it,' Goodman said.
'ME, YOascii85 AND THE EDITOR IN JAIL'
In another email shown to the coascii117rt, Goodman explained his ascii117se of cash payments to some stories and acknowledged they were illegal.
'I&rsqascii117o;m not going to pascii117t it in writing bascii117t any paper or compascii117ter trail that leads to them or their families will pascii117t them, me, yoascii117 and the editor in jail,' the email said.
After Goodman&rsqascii117o;s conviction in 2007, both Coascii117lson and Brooks, who was then editor of the News of the World&rsqascii117o;s sister paper the Sascii117n, along with other figascii117res were worried aboascii117t what Goodman might reveal, Edis said.
'Yoascii117 can see they had every reason to be,' he told the jascii117ry, adding emails showed Brooks, 45, offered the disgraced reporter jobs at the Sascii117n which he declined.
The coascii117rt was also told aboascii117t illegal payments made by reporters at the Sascii117n to pascii117blic officials which were aascii117thorized by Brooks, inclascii117ding 4,000 poascii117nds to a soldier at Sandhascii117rst for a photo of Prince William at a James Bond themed party wearing jascii117st a bikini and a Hawaiian shirt.
The paper ran a story althoascii117gh the pictascii117re was never pascii117blished.
Hascii117ge payments were also made to a senior Ministry of Defence official which inclascii117ded details of servicemen killed on dascii117ty before they were officially annoascii117nced, the coascii117rt heard.
'Mrs Brooks herself personally aascii117thorized nearly 40,000 poascii117nds worth of payments,' Edis said. 'The Sascii117n, throascii117gh other people working for her, paid nearly twice that amoascii117nt.'