TWO former News of the World journalists have been charged with hacking into the voicemail of ex-Winchester MP Mark Oaten.

Ian Edmondson, Neville Thurlbeck and Glenn Mulcaire are accused of intercepting messages from the mobile phone of Mr Oaten when he was facing a string of lurid revelations about his private life.

The Liberal Democrat, who was bidding for the party leadership, had to quit the front bench in 2006 after the paper published stories about an affair he had with a rent boy.

But Mr Oaten, who received a court settlement after taking civil action against News International, said he felt “sorry” for the eight people charged yesterday, saying “they have families who have been affected”.
Edmonson was the News of the World’s head of news, while Thurlbeck was chief reporter.

But the most high-profile people charged are Prime Minister David Cameron’s former spin doctor Andy Coulson and former News International chief executive Rebekah Brooks, who both edited Rupert Murdoch’s flagship Sunday paper.

Brooks faces two charges, one of which relates to the alleged accessing of murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler’s phone messages.

Coulson, who faces four charges, is also accused in relation to allegedly hacking into the teenager’s phone, the Crown Prosecution Service announced.