Gregor McGill, a senior lawyer with the Crown Prosecution Service, whose team handles CPS decision making and potential prosecutions in relation to the ongoing phone hacking investigations and other related matters, said:
This announcement relates to five files of evidence from the Metropolitan Police Service.
Greig Box Turnbull, Grant Pizzey, Desra Reilly, Marc Alexander and one other
It is alleged that Grant Pizzey, a prison officer at HMP Belmarsh and his partner Desra Reilly provided information to Greig Box Turnbull, a former journalist at the Daily Mirror, in exchange for payment.
It is alleged that between 1 December 2005 and 31 January 2012, Grant Pizzey and Desra Reilly received almost £20,000 in exchange for over 40 pieces of information about incidents that took place within the prison, a number of which related to high profile prisoners.
It is also alleged that between 1 February 2006 and 31 December 2009 Marc Alexander, formerly a prison officer at HMP Holloway, received £2,700 for information sold to Greig Box Turnbull also relating to events within the prison in which he worked.
Following careful review of the evidence we have concluded that Greig Box Turnbull should face two charges of conspiracy to commit misconduct in public office, one reflecting a conspiracy with Grant Pizzey and Desra Reilly, who should be charged as co-conspirators, and the second reflecting a conspiracy with Marc Alexander, who should also be charged as a co-conspirator.
This file of evidence also included allegations against one other member of the public and it was determined there was insufficient evidence for a realistic prospect of conviction and that no further action should be taken in relation to the allegations against this individual. Due to ongoing proceedings it would be inappropriate to say any more about this decision at this stage.
Graham Dudman and John Troup
It is alleged that between 5 September 2002 and 27 September 2002 Graham Dudman, who held a number of editorial roles at The Sun newspaper, requested the authorisation of payments of £3,000 to one or more police officers in exchange for information relating to ongoing police investigations.
It is also alleged that between 23 June 2002 and 6 December 2007, Graham Dudman, who later became Managing Editor, authorised payments to public officials. This information related to the health of a Broadmoor patient, details of an incident at a hospital and details of an incident relating to army combat.
It is further alleged that Graham Dudman approved a payment requested by John Troup, a former journalist at The Sun newspaper, for information relating to the death of a prison inmate.
Following careful consideration of the evidence we have concluded that Graham Dudman should be charged with three counts of conspiracy to commit misconduct in public office, one reflecting conspiracy with John Troup, who should also be charged as a co-conspirator.
Vince Soodin
It is alleged that between 18 June 2010 and 20 July 2010 Vince Soodin, a journalist with The Sun newspaper, provided payment to a police officer in exchange for information including contact details for witnesses in police investigations. It is alleged that a payment of £500 was made in exchange for this information.
Having carefully reviewed the evidence we have concluded that Vince Soodin should be charged with conspiring with a police officer to commit misconduct in public office.
Darren Jennings
It is alleged that Darren Jennings, a police officer with Wiltshire Police provided information to The Sun newspaper in relation to a police officer who was facing criminal proceedings. It is alleged that on or around 6 September 2010 he sought payment of £10,000 in exchange for personal background information about the police officer and other individuals who were in police custody at the time.
Following careful review of the evidence we have concluded that Darren Jennings should be charged with misconduct in public office.
Alan Ostler
It is alleged that between 1 June 2008 and 10 July 2008 Alan Ostler, formerly an assistant technical instructor at Broadmoor Hospital, provided information to journalists at The Sun and the Daily Mirror.
It is alleged that Alan Ostler received payment of £900 from the Daily Mirror in exchange for information relating to patients and incidents inside Broadmoor Hospital.
Following careful review of the evidence we have concluded that Alan Ostler should be charged with misconduct in public office.
All of these matters were considered carefully in accordance with the Code for Crown Prosecutors and the DPP's guidelines on the public interest in cases affecting the media. These guidelines ask prosecutors to consider whether the public interest served by the conduct in question outweighs the overall criminality before bringing criminal proceedings.
Accordingly, we have authorised the institution of proceedings against nine individuals and all nine will appear before Westminster Magistrates' Court on 5 September 2013.
May I remind all concerned that proceedings for criminal offences involving these nine individuals will now be commenced and that each has a right to a fair trial. It is very important that nothing is said, or reported, which could prejudice that trial. For these reasons it would be inappropriate for me to comment further.
