UK Phone Hacking Case To Go Ahead After Appeal Fails

News of the World editors Rebekah Brooks and Andy Coulson have lost an appeal to have their prosecution in the phone hacking scandal dropped.

Lord Chief Justice Lord Judge dismissed their appeals and refused to give permission to appeal to the Supreme Court, the highest court in the UK.

They are accused of intercepting voicemails between Oct. 3, 2000, and Aug. 9, 2006, along with senior reporter James Weatherup, former managing editor Stuart Kuttner, and former news editor Ian Edmondson.

The allegations, that forced the closure of the paper in July 2011, have been denied by the defendants.

The NoW five admit accessing and listening to the voicemails after they had been listened to by the intended recipient, but they claim that is not illegal under Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000.

The appeal court disagreed, saying that "contrary to the submission on behalf of the appellants, the resulting situation is not lacking in legal certainty."