Huntley reporter case thrown out

Huntley was held on remand in Woodhill Prison

Charges against a News of the World reporter accused of smuggling a camera into a prison cell to photograph Soham murderer Ian Huntley have been dropped.

David McGee used bogus references and a false address to get a job at Woodhill Prison near Milton Keynes.

He was accused of smuggling a concealed camera into the jail and taking pictures of Huntley in his cell.

But Milton Keynes magistrates dismissed the charges after lengthy argument over the interpretation of prison rules.

Scoop

The undercover reporter had been put on duty guarding the killer while he was held on remand at the jail in May 2003.

He used a digital camera concealed in a personal organiser to photograph Huntley for an award-winning scoop exposing lax security at the prison.

Despite this, the court heard how no-one at the prison had checked the reporter's references, called his supposed employer or verified the address he had given.

Contrary to the application form's requirements, the reporter had put down his wife and mother as referees.

At the prison, Mr McGee applied for special overtime posts working in the health wing of the jail where prisoners on 24-hour watch were held.

He twice guarded Huntley once for as long as five hours, the court heard.

The rule could be interpreted to mean even someone's underpants could be a breach Andrew Nicol, QC, for the defence

Shortly after photographing the murderer in his cell, he quit the job.

The security breach was revealed in the newspaper a month later.

The scoop led to an immediate security review at the prison, and was praised by Home Secretary David Blunkett.

The prosecution was brought against the reporter under a recently drafted rule within the 1952 Prisons Act.

This prohibits items being taken into prison without authorisation from jail authorities.

'Victory '

Defending, Andrew Nicol QC said the rule could be interpreted to mean even someone's underpants could be a breach of the rule if they had not obtained authorisation to wear them.

District Judge Terence English agreed saying it would catch anybody who goes into a prison and happens to have a packet of cigarettes in their pocket or a letter for a loved one.

"I don't believe that parliament had that intention and intended the rules to be as wide as they currently seem to be," he added.

News of the World editor Andy Coulson hailed the decision as "a victory for common sense".

"As even the home secretary acknowledged, our actions had plainly served the public interest."

The prosecution of the reporter had served no public interest whatsoever, he added.