The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said it would take no further action against News Group Newspapers (NGN), global media baron Rupert Murdoch's British tabloid stable.
England's state prosecutors also said there would be no further action against 10 journalists from the rival Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN) -- among them former Daily Mirror editor Piers Morgan.
The phone hacking scandal, which first emerged in 2006 and resurfaced explosively in 2011, engulfed top newspaper executives, police chiefs and politicians.
The scandal led to the demise of the expose-led News of the World weekly tabloid, which was Britain's biggest-selling newspaper.