Ex-police officer and journalist charged with corruption

A former police officer and a Sun journalist are facing criminal charges over alleged corrupt payments for information including details of the death of a teenager.
By The Newsroom
Published 23rd Jan 2013, 09:14 BST

Ex-Metropolitan Police constable Paul Flattley and The Sun’s defence editor Virginia Wheeler will be charged with conspiracy to commit misconduct in public office, the Crown Prosecution Service said yesterday.

It is alleged the officer was paid at least £4,000 in cheques and £2,450 in cash in exchange for information. Principal legal adviser to the Director of Public Prosecutions Alison Levitt QC said the details he is alleged to have provided “included information about the tragic death of a 15-year-old girl, as well as details about both suspects and victims of accidents, incidents and crimes. This included, but was not limited to, information about high-profile individuals and those associated with them.”

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The charges are being brought as a result of Operation Elveden, Scotland Yard’s inquiry into alleged corrupt payments to public officials. So far, 56 people have been arrested as part of the inquiry, six have been charged, and two – a retired police officer and a former journalist – have been told they will face no further action.

Flattley, from Stockport, Cheshire, is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on February 11. Wheeler, from Kennington, south London, has been summoned to the court on the same date.