Ex-prison officer guilty of tipping off reporter

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-32966621

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A former prison officer has been found guilty of selling stories to a Daily Mirror and News of the World reporter.

Robert Norman, 54, was convicted of committing misconduct in a public office while working at Belmarsh, home to a number of high-profile prisoners.

The Old Bailey heard he was paid more than £10,000 for 40 tips to reporter Stephen Moyes between 2006 and 2011.

Norman, of Swanscombe in Kent, said he wanted to highlight what was going on at the south London prison.

He claimed the case of a Roman Catholic chaplain having affairs with inmates was being "swept under the carpet" by authorities before he told Mr Moyes about it.

But prosecutor Julian Christopher QC said his behaviour was not that of a "conscience-driven whistleblower, moved by the desire to see change and accountability where otherwise there would be none".

'Paid mole'

The court heard how Norman first phoned the Daily Mirror in 2006 and gave Mr Moyes a story about staff cuts at the prison, for which he was paid £400.

The exclusive story described Belmarsh as a "terror prison" and ran alongside a photograph of one of its most notorious prisoners, "hate preacher" Abu Hamza.

The jury heard how as the relationship developed, it became a "two-way affair" and Norman carried on dealing with Mr Moyes when the journalist moved to the News of the World.

Mr Christopher said sometimes Norman would approach Mr Moyes with something he thought would be of interest, and at other times Mr Moyes would approach Norman for inside information about a topic in which he was interested.

"Effectively, Robert Norman became the journalist's paid mole within HMP Belmarsh," he said.

Norman and Mr Moyes were both arrested as part of Operation Elveden - the Metropolitan Police investigation into alleged inappropriate payments to police and public officials.

The charges against the journalist were dropped following a review of the case by the Crown Prosecution Service.

Norman is due to be sentenced on Tuesday.