Hacking: No charges for ex-NoW deputy editor

Neil Wallis spoke of "21 months of hell for my family"

The former deputy editor at the now-defunct News of the World newspaper will not face any charges regarding phone hacking, the CPS has announced.

It said Neil Wallis would not face prosecution because there was insufficient evidence.

Mr Wallis wrote on Twitter: "After 21 months of hell for my family, CPS have just told my solicitors that there will be no prosecution of me."

He was arrested in 2011 on suspicion of intercepting communications.

In a statement, Alison Levitt QC, principal legal adviser to the Director of Public Prosecutions, said prosecutors had been considering whether to bring charges against two journalists over alleged phone hacking.

No reasons given

She said: "The file in relation to one of those two journalists was resubmitted on January 11 2013.

"Having carefully considered the matter, the CPS has concluded that there is insufficient evidence for a realistic prospect of conviction in relation to that journalist. The other journalist remains under investigation.

"As eight people are awaiting trial in relation to this matter, it would not be appropriate to give reasons for this decision at this stage. At the conclusion of any related proceedings we will consider what more can be made public in relation to this decision."

Mr Wallis's solicitor, Phil Smith, said his client had been "subjected to a terrible ordeal" since his arrest at dawn in July 2011.

"Whilst he is relieved that this is at an end, he would now like the opportunity to reconstruct his career and his and his family's personal lives. His trauma cannot be overstated but at the end of this affair Mr Wallis's integrity is not only intact but his reputation has been significantly enhanced by his vindication," he said.

"As Lord Leveson concluded, after hearing evidence from Mr Wallis on three occasions, he is a thoroughly professional and conscientious journalist."

So far, 26 people have been arrested as part of Operation Weeting, the Metropolitan Police's investigation into illegal accessing of voicemails.

Eight people, including former News International chief executive Rebekah Brooks and Andy Coulson, the prime minister's former spokesman, are facing a total of 19 charges relating to phone hacking.

Mrs Brooks and Mr Coulson, both former News of the World editors, are among seven of the paper's former staff facing charges of conspiring to intercept voicemails.

They are all due to face trial later in the year.

The phone-hacking allegations led to the closure of the News of the World in July 2011 and the establishment of the Leveson Inquiry into press ethics.