A former soldier from Kentish Town has been accused of conspiracy to commit misconduct in a public office, alongside a journalist from the defunct News of the World (NOTW).
Paul Brunt, 31, of Bartholomew Road, and former NOTW reporter Ryan Sabey both face a single charge of conspiring together between April 1, 2006 and November 1, 2007.
They are the latest to be charged under the Metropolitan Police’s Operation Elveden, investigating alleged payments from the press to public officials in exchange for stories.
The pair appeared in the dock together at Westminster Magistrates’ Court for a brief hearing last Thursday.
Sabey, 34, of West Way, Harpenden, who now works for The Sun, was crowned Young Journalist of the Year at the British Press Awards in March 2005 for a string of exclusives.
He is the 36th UK journalist to be charged since the phone hacking scandal erupted in 2011.
District Judge John Zani freed both men on unconditional bail until a preliminary hearing at the Old Bailey on September 9.
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