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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/oct/27/sun-journalist-operation-elveden-anthony-france
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| Sun journalist wins challenge over Operation Elveden conviction | Sun journalist wins challenge over Operation Elveden conviction |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| The only journalist whose conviction for payments to public officials under Operation Elveden was still standing has had his guilty verdict overturned by the court of appeal. | The only journalist whose conviction for payments to public officials under Operation Elveden was still standing has had his guilty verdict overturned by the court of appeal. |
| Sun crime reporter Anthony France was found guilty in May last year of aiding and abetting a police officer working for a counter-terrorism command squad to commit misconduct in a public office. | Sun crime reporter Anthony France was found guilty in May last year of aiding and abetting a police officer working for a counter-terrorism command squad to commit misconduct in a public office. |
| He was sentenced to 18 months’ prison, suspected for two years, and ordered to carry out 200 hours of community service. | He was sentenced to 18 months’ prison, suspected for two years, and ordered to carry out 200 hours of community service. |
| After the result of his appeal was announced by Lady Justice Hallett, France was congratulated by supporters outside court. | After the result of his appeal was announced by Lady Justice Hallett, France was congratulated by supporters outside court. |
| He said: “I am delighted that this serious miscarriage of justice has ended today, allowing me to rebuild my life after 1,379 days of sheer hell.” | He said: “I am delighted that this serious miscarriage of justice has ended today, allowing me to rebuild my life after 1,379 days of sheer hell.” |
| Sun publisher News UK said: “Today Anthony France’s conviction has been overturned on appeal and we are delighted that these proceedings are now over for him. In the course of the last five years, 19 journalists from the Sun were prosecuted as a result of Operation Elveden and not one has resulted in any conviction being upheld.” | |
| In a written judgment, the court said the judge in France’s original trial should have give more detailed directions to the jury in what was a “complex area of the law”. In particular, it said that the the jury should have had more direction on how to assess the seriousness of harm caused by the information provided to France, and more detailed instruction on how to evaluate the public interest.It said that the “cumulative” effect of the court’s criticisms meant the conviction was unsafe.The ruling said: “Taking any one of those criticisms in isolation, we may not have been persuaded the summing up rendered the conviction unsafe. However, we must consider their cumulative effect and read the summing-up as a whole.“Having done so, we are driven to the conclusion that the jury were not provided with legally adequate directions tailored to the circumstances of the case and that the conviction is unsafe.”The decision mirrors the one handed down by the court of appeal when it quashed the conviction of a News of the World reporter for similar offences in March 2015.Later that month, the Crown Prosecution Service launched a review of its policy of prosecuting journalists under Operation Elveden. |