Phone hacking: Andy Coulson jailed for 18 months

Andy Coulson has this morning been jailed for 18 months for conspiracy to hack phones. He was sentenced at the Old Bailey along with four colleagues: Greg Miskiw and Neville Thurlberk were given 6 months, James Weatherup was jailed for four months, suspended for 12 months, and ordered to do 200 hours unpaid community work, and Glenn Mulcaire was jailed for six months, suspended for 12 months, and ordered to do 200 hours unpaid community work.

There are still outstanding cases to be heard, but it has been interesting to see how little political impact this case has had. There seemed to be a sense in Westminster that the hacking trial, regardless of verdict, had been factored into the pressures on the PM and therefore Coulson’s guilty verdict was less of a threat to him. There has been discussion of whether the Prime Minister was right to hire Coulson and what it says about his judgement, but on this it seems as though those who think the Prime Minister has poor judgement had already formed that opinion regardless of the fate of his former director of communications.