A crime reporter for media baron Rupert Murdoch's popular 'The Sun' newspaper in Britain was today charged with misconduct over alleged corrupt payments to public officials in return for scoops.
Anthony France had been arrested in January last year by officers from the Scotland Yard's Operation Elveden investigation, which has been running alongside the phone-hacking inquiry in Britain.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said it had authorised charges of conspiracy to commit misconduct in public office against France, who will appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court on August 21.
"We have decided there is sufficient evidence for a realistic prospect of conviction and that a prosecution is in the public interest," said senior CPS lawyer Gregor McGill.
"May I remind all concerned that criminal proceedings against Anthony France will now be commenced and of his right to a fair trial. It is extremely important that there should be no reporting, commentary or sharing of information online which could in any way prejudice these proceedings," he warned.
The Metropolitan Police have said that the two charges against the 41-year-old reporter relate to the periods between March 31, 2008 to July 1, 2011, and July 19, 2009 to August 14, 2009.
The first charge states that France conspired with Timothy Edwards - a police officer previously charged in relation to Operation Elveden - and with others unknown to commit misconduct in public office.
The second charge states that France conspired together with others to commit misconduct in public office.
The Operation Elveden probe into bribery of public officials runs alongside two other police inquiries - Operation Weeting investigating alleged phone hacking and Operation Tuleta examining claims of computer hacking and other privacy breaches.
Police launched the probe after receiving documents from Murdoch's News International as part of the investigation into phone-hacking at the Sun's sister newspaper, the 'News of the World' (NoW).
Murdoch shut down NoW in 2011 after it emerged it had illegally accessed the mobile phone voicemails of hundreds of high-profile figures, including a missing teenager who was later found murdered.
