British prime minister David Cameron was sharply chastised by a High Court judge for public comments about Andy Coulson that could have derailed the trial of his former communications chief.
The jury in the long-running case was discharged yesterday after it failed to reach a verdict on the outstanding charges of misconduct in public offices facing Mr Coulson and the Sun's former royal correspondent Clive Goodman.
Mr Cameron had publicly put distance between himself and Coulson on Tuesday immediately after the jury had convicted him on charges of conspiracy to intercept voicemails.
Trial judge Mr Justice Saunders yesterday revealed that he had demanded an explanation from the prime minister on why he had issued his statement while the jury was still considering the final verdicts.
In reply, Downing Street said he had done so because the verdicts had come in open court and were of “understandable” public interest and had provoked national and international media interest.
‘Missed the point’
However, the judge said Mr Cameron’s explanation “misses the point”, since he had told “the public and therefore the jury that he was given assurances by Mr Coulson before he employed him which turned out to be untrue.
“The jury were not aware of that before and it is a matter which is capable of affecting Mr Coulson’s credibility in their eyes. Mr Coulson’s credibility is a matter which is in issue on the final two charges that the jury have to consider,” he said.
Mr Justice Saunders rejected a bid by Coulson’s lawyers to have the jury discharged, saying he was satisfied that the jury would try the two men on the evidence presented to court, and nothing more.
On Tuesday, Mr Cameron’s officials said he had taken “the best legal advice” before commenting, but he was under pressure to move fast because he wanted to head off criticism about his decision to hire Mr Coulson in 2007.
Meanwhile, the most senior Conservative minister, Ken Clarke, made public his doubt that Downing Street had taken legal advice. “They were being pressed, of course, by the public and the press to give comments on the news that had come out.”
Most importantly, he said the judge had decided that the jury had not been compromised. “It’s all very well getting excited about it, but the sub judice rule is not talked about over the breakfast table, even of senior politicians,” he said.
The prime minister also faced political criticism. Labour leader Ed Miliband said that he would “always be remembered as the first ever occupant of his office who brought a criminal into the heart of Downing Street”.
Mr Cameron, charged the Labour leader, had "wilfully ignored" multiple warnings about Coulson – including the 2009 disclosure by the Guardian newspaper that widespread phone-hacking had occurred in the News of the World when he Coulson served as editor.
Mr Cameron, Clearly uncomfortable on occasions, repeatedly insisted he had been vindicated by the Leveson Inquiry into media ethics, even though it did not inquire into matters that were subject to criminal investigation.
Mr Cameron claimed Coulson’s word had been accepted by the police, a House of Commons inquiry, the Crown Prosecution Service and the Press Complaints Commission.
Here, Mr Cameron’s defence is on weak ground, however, since none of the bodies cited had dealt directly with Coulson at that stage and when they did police sent a file to the crown prosecutor.
Meanwhile, Gemma Dowler, whose murdered sister Millie’s voicemail was hacked, demanded State-controlled press regulation, criticising the “incestuous” relationship between politicians and publishers.
