Met's April Casburn 'Offered Leaks For Cash'

By Martin Brunt, Crime Correspondent

A senior Scotland Yard officer offered the News Of The World newspaper confidential information in return for money, a jury has been told.

Detective Chief Inspector April Casburn, 53, is accused of trying to sell the former Sunday tabloid details of the force's phone hacking investigation into its own journalists.

The prosecution said Casburn called the paper and said she was concerned about "a waste of public money" because colleagues had been taken off counter-terror duties to investigate phone hacking.

Casburn, who ran the Yard's National Terrorist Financial Investigation Unit, admits making the call "with reasonable justification" but denies asking for money, said the prosecution.

She denies one charge of misconduct in public office after calling the newspaper in September 2010. At the time, police were deciding whether to re-open their phone hacking investigation.

Mark Bryant-Heron, prosecuting, told the jury: "The prosecution says she sought to undermine a highly sensitive and high-profile investigation at the point of its launch.

"The prosecution says that the act of telephoning the News Of The World (NOTW) to offer to sell information and the provision of some information during that call was misconduct, it was misconduct in public office.

"It was a gross breach of the trust that the public places in a police officer not to disclose information on a current investigation in an unauthorised way, or to offer to do so in the future for payment."

Scotland Yard has been investigating phone hacking allegations

The newspaper did not publish anything and no payment changed hands, the court heard.

The prosecutor at London's Southwark Crown Court said Casburn was arrested after an internal email at the NOTW "came into the hands of the police".

In a statement to detectives she said the call to the paper was "foolish". She said she had been off work with stress, had been bullied and was going through a difficult divorce.

The call was taken by a journalist Tim Wood, who was then a news editor for the NOTW.

He said the caller refused to give her name, but introduced herself as a senior police officer.

Mr Wood told the jury: "The one thing that stands out in my mind is the fact that she kept going on about Lord Prescott.

"Her saying that he was pressing for them to put charges on the News Of The World, and she was saying that she felt it was wrong that he was interfering in the scandal, so to speak, and she resented that."

He added: "She was almost justifying her call by saying that it was this interference by Prescott that had upset her."

Mr Wood sent an email to news editor Ian Edmondson and crime journalist Lucy Panton after the call to say a police officer wanted "to sell inside information" on the phone hacking inquiry.

Casburn told him six people were under investigation including former NOTW editor Andy Coulson and reporter Sean Hoare, Mr Wood said.

She also mentioned that "counter-terrorism assets" were being used in the probe, which was "highly unusual".

The trial is expected to last a week.

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