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Once more thanks so much for supporting my live tweeting the phone hacking trial. I live tweeted nearly 500,000 words in 2.5 million keystrokes from the Old Bailey thanks to you. The trial finally concluded last week with the sentencing of Dan Evans – and the announcement of a likely Phone Hacking Trial Two with the charging of former News of the World deputy editor Neil Wallis, and features editor Jules Stenson

But nothing will ever again match the size, length and cost of the 8 month trial of Regina v Brooks and Others. For those of you who may have missed it, I’ve written a long form profile of Brooks for the New Statesman

More importantly, I’ve just finished Beyond Contempt:The Inside Story of the Phone Hacking Trial – which reveals all the legal argument, media campaigns and police activities that we’re going on in the background – as well as my own adventures and misadventures.

UPDATED: Hacking Trial 2: Wallis Responds to charges: “needlessly vindictive… the ire has been turned on me”

Neil Wallis has just responded to these new charges:

Neil Wallis (Photo credit: jon_cronshaw)

 I’m devastated that more than 3 years after my initial arrest, this swingeing indiscriminate charge had been brought against me. My family and  I have already paid a huge price for the police’s very public attention. Perhaps it is inevitable that after being such an outspoken critic of the collateral damage and pain caused by this needlessly vindictive and enormously costly investigation, the ire  has been turned on me for something that occurred at NI of which I knew nothing and which I have always said was wrong Regrettably, legal reporting restrictions prevent me commenting further on this sad day.

Eariler from  from the CPS

On December 2013, the Metropolitan Police Service submitted evidence for charging advice to the CPS in relation to Operation Pinetree, an investigation into an alleged conspiracy to hack phone messages by journalists at the News of the World. Additional evidence in the case was provided in June 2014. The file asked for charging advice on eight suspects; all were formerly employed at the News of the World. On 16 July 2014, the CPS announced that six of those individuals would face no further action whilst the evidence in relation to two further suspects remained under review. That review has now concluded.

The Trial Ahead: plus Industrial Espionage and Personal Violation

The first week back at the Hacking Trial in 2014 has been focused on allegations of cover-up, and specifically focused on Count 6 of the charges – that Rebekah Brooks and her PA Cheryl Carter conspired to pervert the course of justice by removing seven boxes of Brooks’ notebooks from archives on the day that Andy Coulson was arrested and the closure of the News of the World was announced.

Carter’s defence in a police interview was that she removed her own notebooks during an planned boot camp holiday for Brooks. We have heard evidence from the head of News International archives, Nick Mays, and Carter’s fellow PA Deborah Reagan.

All the defendants deny all the charges.