How The Sun Paid $6,500 For A Photo Of Prince William in a Bikini
Hacking trial hears that Brooks authorized £4,000 payment for embarrassing photo of Prince William
Leon Neal/AFP/Getty
Rebekah Brooks signed off a £4,000 ($6,500) payment in less than ten minutes to a member of the Armed Forces for a photograph of Prince William wearing a bikini at an army fancy dress party when she edited The Sun, the London phone hacking trial heard yesterday.The Sun never ran the picture, instead running a mocked-up version in September 2006.The Times reports that in an e-mail forwarded by his superior to Mrs Brooks, the reporter wrote that the photograph came from his “best contact at Sandhurst”, and that he was a platoon commander who wanted the money for his wife.The e-mail continued: “I have the guy with the picture over a barrel because I know his identity. The chap is only happy for us to use the picture once, when Sandhurst is on a break, and wants the money upfront by Saturday.”The reporter told his superior that although £4,000 “sounds like a lot” of money, it would “open the door for future exclusives and info”.
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