Four British journalists have been found not guilty of illegally paying prison officials for stories by a court here today.
Former 'Daily Mirror' reporter Graham Brough and the 'Sun' tabloid's Neil Millard, Brandon Malinsky and Tom Wells were cleared of "conspiring to commit misconduct in public office" by a jury at the Old Bailey court.
The UK Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has been given seven days to decide whether to seek a retrial on two remaining counts.
Millard, 33, Malinsky, 50, Brough, 54, and Wells, 34, had all denied charges of paying prison officials for stories.
The trial is part of Scotland Yard's Operation Elveden into allegations of inappropriate payments to police and public officials.
The trial was latest around illegal phone-hacking at media tycoon Rupert Murdoch owned 'News of the World' tabloid, which has been shut down since.
Speaking outside court, Millard said his heart had been "pounding and pounding" while standing in the dock as the verdicts were read out.
"I did not expect, when I went to do shifts at the 'Sun', that I would end up at the Old Bailey on the three counts on an indictable offence," he said.
The four journalists are the latest reporters to have been tried on charges brought under Operation Elveden.
All of them had denied various counts of conspiring to commit misconduct in a public office and bribing public officers in return for information for their newspaper reports.
Last month, four 'Sun' journalists were cleared of wrongdoing over paying public officials for stories.
The controversial police investigation into newspapers' dealings with public officials is believed to have cost an estimated 20 million pounds.
So far two journalists have been convicted following a trial - a 'News of the World' reporter who cannot be named, and another Ryan Sabey, who has been given leave to appeal.
Thirteen journalists have been acquitted.
