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| Ben Ashford found not guilty after trawling stolen phone for ‘flirty’ texts | Ben Ashford found not guilty after trawling stolen phone for ‘flirty’ texts |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| A former Sun journalist has walked free from the Old Bailey after he was cleared of all charges levelled against him after he looked through the contents of an iPhone that did not belong to him. | A former Sun journalist has walked free from the Old Bailey after he was cleared of all charges levelled against him after he looked through the contents of an iPhone that did not belong to him. |
| Ben Ashford looked thoroughly relieved as the jury of 12 pronounced its “not guilty” verdict on the two charges in the five-day trial. | Ben Ashford looked thoroughly relieved as the jury of 12 pronounced its “not guilty” verdict on the two charges in the five-day trial. |
| The verdict brings to a close the end of a two-year ordeal for Ashford who was sacked by the Daily Mail when he was arrested in 2012, destroying a dream career he was pursuing in the US. | The verdict brings to a close the end of a two-year ordeal for Ashford who was sacked by the Daily Mail when he was arrested in 2012, destroying a dream career he was pursuing in the US. |
| He was the first journalist charged under Operation Tuleta, the investigation into alleged criminal breaches of privacy and computer hacking. | |
| Ashford said: “I’m immensely relieved that the jury have reached a just verdict. I’d like thank my family, friends, and my legal team for their unwavering support, and my thoughts remain with my friends and former colleagues who face a similar ordeal.” | Ashford said: “I’m immensely relieved that the jury have reached a just verdict. I’d like thank my family, friends, and my legal team for their unwavering support, and my thoughts remain with my friends and former colleagues who face a similar ordeal.” |
| Outside court, his father, Frazer Ashford, said: “I’m just so relieved that justice has been done.” | Outside court, his father, Frazer Ashford, said: “I’m just so relieved that justice has been done.” |
| The jury took just four and a half hours to reach their unanimous verdict. Their decision will raise questions about the crown prosecution’s decision to bring the case to trial, given that the police investigation into the phone theft in 2009 had not given rise to any charges. | The jury took just four and a half hours to reach their unanimous verdict. Their decision will raise questions about the crown prosecution’s decision to bring the case to trial, given that the police investigation into the phone theft in 2009 had not given rise to any charges. |
| Ashford, who is currently working for South West News, a news agency in Plymouth, will now try to rebuild his career which he described as being in “tatters” as a result of the arrest and charges. | Ashford, who is currently working for South West News, a news agency in Plymouth, will now try to rebuild his career which he described as being in “tatters” as a result of the arrest and charges. |
| The jury had heard how Ashford had been handed the phone by a tipster when he was working for the Sun in October 2009 in Manchester. | The jury had heard how Ashford had been handed the phone by a tipster when he was working for the Sun in October 2009 in Manchester. |
| His London newsdesk had sent him to the flat of 20-year-old Sameena Rashid after she had contacted them to say she had evidence of a celebrity cheating on his long-term partner. | His London newsdesk had sent him to the flat of 20-year-old Sameena Rashid after she had contacted them to say she had evidence of a celebrity cheating on his long-term partner. |
| He took possession of the phone and spent hours trawling through its contents, sending a lengthy memo to his newsdesk in the early hours of the morning. | He took possession of the phone and spent hours trawling through its contents, sending a lengthy memo to his newsdesk in the early hours of the morning. |
| He returned the phone the following day when he realised that it was stolen after the owner, a PR agent who cannot be named for legal reasons, tweeted that about the theft. | He returned the phone the following day when he realised that it was stolen after the owner, a PR agent who cannot be named for legal reasons, tweeted that about the theft. |
| The jury heard that the phone had no security code and Ashford said he thought at the time it was possible the PR may have been using Rashid as an intermediary to get her story out without being traced as the source. | The jury heard that the phone had no security code and Ashford said he thought at the time it was possible the PR may have been using Rashid as an intermediary to get her story out without being traced as the source. |
| The jury also heard that Ashford was interviewed as a witness, not a suspect, in relation to the phone in November 2009. | The jury also heard that Ashford was interviewed as a witness, not a suspect, in relation to the phone in November 2009. |
| Rashid was later cautioned over the theft in 2010. | Rashid was later cautioned over the theft in 2010. |
| Ashford heard nothing more until September 2012 when he was arrested and cautioned. He was charged a year later with possessing criminal property and securing unauthorised access to computer material. | Ashford heard nothing more until September 2012 when he was arrested and cautioned. He was charged a year later with possessing criminal property and securing unauthorised access to computer material. |
| The arrest came just months after News International’s management standards committee handed over a dossier of emails recovered from the company’s servers that had been exchanged between Ashford and a number of senior Sun staff. | The arrest came just months after News International’s management standards committee handed over a dossier of emails recovered from the company’s servers that had been exchanged between Ashford and a number of senior Sun staff. |
| Ashford was charged with one count of possession of criminal property, namely a mobile phone, under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002. | Ashford was charged with one count of possession of criminal property, namely a mobile phone, under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002. |
| He was also charged under the Computer Misuse Act with “causing a computer to perform a function with intent to secure unauthorised access to a program or data held in a computer, knowing that such access was unauthorised.” | He was also charged under the Computer Misuse Act with “causing a computer to perform a function with intent to secure unauthorised access to a program or data held in a computer, knowing that such access was unauthorised.” |
| In finding Ashford not guilty, the jury concluded that he did believe that access was authorised or implied to be authorised by the owner of the phone. | In finding Ashford not guilty, the jury concluded that he did believe that access was authorised or implied to be authorised by the owner of the phone. |
| Rashid received a caution in 2010 for “theft by finding”, but Ashford was not at the time interviewed as a suspect. | Rashid received a caution in 2010 for “theft by finding”, but Ashford was not at the time interviewed as a suspect. |