Andy Coulson
Andrew Edward Coulson (born 21 January 1968) is an English journalist and political strategist. In June 2014 he was found guilty of conspiracy to intercept voicemails. He was sentenced on 4 July 2014 to 18 months in prison. On 30 June 2014, it was announced that he would face a retrial over two counts of conspiring to cause misconduct in public office in relation to the alleged purchase of confidential royal phone directories in 2005 from a palace police officer, after the jury in the original trial was unable to reach a verdict on them. Coulson was the editor of the News of the World from 2003 until his resignation in 2007, following the conviction of one of the newspaper's reporters in relation to illegal phone-hacking. He subsequently joined David Cameron's personnel as communications director, until announcing his departure on 21 January 2011 because of continued media coverage of the phone-hacking affair. He was replaced on 2 February 2011 by former BBC Global News Controller of English Craig Oliver. Coulson was arrested by the Metropolitan Police Service on 8 July 2011 "in connection with allegations of corruption and phone hacking". He was detained and charged with perjury by Strathclyde Police on 30 May 2012 in relation to evidence he had given in the trial of Scottish politician Tommy Sheridan in 2010. In June 2014 at the Old Bailey, Coulson was found guilty of a charge of conspiracy to intercept voicemails (phone-hacking). At the time of this verdict, Coulson still faced a further trial over charges that he committed perjury in the evidence he gave in the appeal hearing on the Sheridan case in 2010. On 7 July 2014, it was announced that Coulson had been indicted to appear at the High Court in Glasgow on 6 August to face perjury charges over the Tommy Sheridan trial.