UK reporter jailed for royal phone bugging scam

LONDON, Jan 26 (Reuters) A senior journalist on Britain's biggest-selling newspaper was jailed today for hacking into the mobile telephones of members of the royal household ''several hundred'' times in a bid to obtain exclusive stories.

The News of the World's royal affairs editor Clive Goodman listened to voicemail messages left for the press secretary of heir-to-the-throne Prince Charles and also for two officials who worked for his sons, princes William and Harry.

Goodman, 49, was jailed for four months and his accomplice, private investigator Glenn Mulcaire, 36, was given a six-month prison term.

Both admitted last November to plotting to unlawfully intercept communications while Mulcaire also pleaded guilty to five other charges of unlawfully intercepting voicemail messages.

London's Old Bailey court heard the duo had begun a ''relatively sophisticated'' scheme to bug Charles's Clarence House residence in London in December 2005.

They had also tapped the phones of Australian supermodel Elle McPherson, a member of parliament and the head of England's Professional Footballers' Association, the court heard.

''REPREHENSIBLE'' ''This was low conduct, reprehensible in the extreme,'' said the judge, Justice Gross.

''This case is not about press freedom. It is about grave, inexcusable and illegal invasion of privacy. The targets were members of the royal family. The royal family holds a unique position in the life of this country. It is grave indeed.'' Prosecutor David Perry said the pair acted out of greed.

''The prosecution case is simple, (they) were motivated by profit and personal gain,'' he said.

The scam was uncovered after minor stories appearing about the princes aroused suspicion in the royal household and staff became concerned their phones were being monitored.

The paper suspended Goodman after he was charged last August and he apologised to Prince Charles and his sons for a ''gross invasion of privacy''.

His lawyer, John Kelsey-Fry, said Goodman was a man of ''integrity, reliability, honesty and decency'' who had been desperately trying to hold on to his job.

The reporter enjoyed a string of exclusives about Princess Diana in the 1990s. Colleagues dubbed the office-bound reporter the ''eternal flame'' because he never went out.

''By 2005, Mr Goodman's stories were no longer considered adequate by his superiors. He was demoted, sidelined -- a younger reporter was assigned to cover the Royal Family,'' Kelsey-Fry said.

Snooping on the royals has been a rich source of scoops for the scandal-hungry tabloids.

In the early 1990s, their pages were plastered with transcripts of the ''Squidgygate'' and ''Camillagate'' tapes -- recordings of Charles and his then-wife Diana talking intimately to their lovers on the telephone.

Earlier this month, Prince William called on the media to stop pursuing his girlfriend, Kate Middleton, after photographers and film crews camped outside her house as rumours grew that the couple would announce their engagement.

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