Former 'News of the World' Reporter James Desborough Freed From Bail in Phone-Hacking Inquiry

10:17 AM PDT 3/27/2012 by Stuart Kemp

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The award-winning scribe, who covered Prince William and Kate Middleton's recent trip to Los Angeles, was the first U.S.-based reporter to be pulled into the News International investigation.

LONDON – Former award-winning News of the World reporter James Desborough, one of the pack of journalists who traveled with Prince William and Kate Middleton on their post-honeymoon trip to Los Angeles, has been released from bail by the Metropolitan police.

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He was first arrested by police investigating the ongoing phone-hacking storm.

Desborough, the first U.S.-based journalist to be arrested in the fallout from the ongoing maelstrom currently buffeting News International, Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp’s publishing division, will face "no further action" in connection with the phone-hacking investigation, the police said.

In a statement Tuesday afternoon, the Met said it had ended the reporter's bail and he would face no further action.

Desborough was detained on suspicion of conspiring to intercept communications, contrary to Section1 of the Criminal Law Act 1977, and on suspicion of corruption allegations contrary to Section 1 of the Prevention of Corruption Act 1906.

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The Met said: "On 18 August 2011, officers from Operation Weeting arrested a 39-year-old man [K] in connection with phone hacking. He was today, Tuesday 27 March, released from bail with no further action."

His arrest came as part of Operation Weeting, the name of the police operation set up to investigate the ongoing phone-hacking.

At the 2009 British Press Awards ceremony, Desborough was praised by judges for his series of "uncompromising scoops” before being presented with an award. He joined News of the World in 2005 and broke a slew of stories about celebrities here. He was writing for the paper right up until News International closed it down.

Desborough's final story for the online version of the paper was July 8, two days before it closed, claiming Middleton was to act in a Hollywood film.