British journalists face bribery charges - San Francisco Chronicle

London --

Two former confidants of Britain's prime minister have been charged with conspiring to pay public officials in exchange for stories and information - the latest development in the country's establishment-shaking scandal over media malfeasance.

Britain's Crown Prosecution Services said Tuesday that former tabloid editors Andy Coulson and Rebekah Brooks were among five people being charged with conspiracy to commit misconduct in public office.

Prosecutors said Brooks, a neighbor, close friend and political ally of Prime Minister David Cameron, conspired with journalist John Kay to funnel as much as $160,000 to Ministry of Defense employee Bettina Jordan Barber in return for a stream of stories that were published in Rupert Murdoch's the Sun newspaper.

In a statement, the prosecutors alleged that Coulson, who until last year served as Cameron's top press aide, conspired with journalist Clive Goodman to pay officials for access to a royal phone directory known as the "Green Book."

The charges stem from the phone hacking scandal that erupted last year at Murdoch's News of the World tabloid, which Brooks and Coulson used to edit before she took a job as chief executive of News International and he went to work for the government.

The scandal exploded after it was revealed that News of the World journalists routinely hacked phones and paid bribes to win scoops. The scale of wrongdoing was staggering; ruthless reporters violated the privacy of 600 victims, from powerful ministers to well-known celebrities and even crime victims.

Coulson and Brooks already face charges in relation to phone hacking. Brooks faces separate charges of obstruction of justice relating to her alleged attempts to hide evidence from police. Coulson is charged with perjury in relation to evidence he gave at a 2010 trial in Scotland.