I did not enter journalism to become a criminal, says Sun's royal editor
Version 0 of 1. The Sun’s royal editor has said he “did not come into journalism to become a criminal”, telling jurors he would not have touched a story with “a barge pole” if he thought it meant breaking the law. Duncan Larcombe told the Old Bailey in London he did not think in his “heart of hearts” he had done anything wrong or broken the law after being charged in connection with payments to a Sandhurst officer for stories about the princes William and Harry. “When I was arrested … one of the things I found particularly upsetting was an accusation that I was in some way knowingly corrupting a soldier. I took that really hard,” he said. He said if he thought he was working for a paper that was turning him into a criminal he would have resigned. Larcombe told jurors he had the utmost respect for the army and had been in Afghanistan with British forces. “I didn’t come into journalism to become a criminal. I hope this court will realise I’m not a criminal.” he said. He has previously told jurors he stands by “every single one” of the stories about the Duke of Cambridge and Prince Harry that allegedly came from tips from a Sandhurst instructor. Larcombe is on trial over his dealings with colour sergeant John Hardy, who was allegedly paid more than £23,700 for providing information on the princes and others on 34 occasions. Both Hardy, who is also on trial, and Larcombe have denied the charges. Larcombe told jurors that when Hardy first made contact with the Sun he had asked whether the paper was interested in “positive stories” about the royals. “It was an unusual thing for someone who’s phoned the Sun.” He said had he did not think that Hardy, whose role at the military academy was not initially known to him, was out to cash in on the prince’s during their time at Sandhurst. “When it become more obvious that he was an instructor at Sandhurst, I was frankly, a little surprised at how little he gave me. “Prince William and his brother were – are – two of the most famous people on the planet and if he had access to them all of the time and just wanted to make as much money as he could I think he would have been phoning me every day. “As you can see you don’t have to have a lot of information about these guys for it to be of interest,” said Larcombe. Larcombe said he believed the stories about William were justifiably in the public interest. He said he believed the “net results” of the stories were to show the prince was “treated like every other cadet”. “It was not a charade, it was the real thing,” said Larcombe. In the final stages of his evidence, Mr Justice Saunders asked Larcombe if he knew at the time that paying a public official might lead to a criminal offence. He responded: “If I wasn’t the first journalist in Britain to ever have been arrested for paying or allegedly paying a soldier – I am the first … If I had any guidance that paying Mr Hardy in that context, it may have been illegal ...maybe in the public interest defence. I know I would have raised that with my line manager, my line manager would have referred it to the lawyers. “The decision whether to proceed or forget all about it would not have been mine and I would have insisted on that. “If I thought I was working for a company that was turning me into a criminal I wouldn’t have touched that with a barge pole. “If my boss had turned around and said ‘look, keep this under the radar, it might be illegal, but do it anyway’, I think that might have been the3rd third occasion I would have resigned from the Sun.” The trial continues. |