Operation Elveden: Two men sentenced
A former Surrey police officer and a former prison officer have both been handed prison sentences for leaking and selling information to The Sun newspaper.
Both men had pleaded guilty to misconduct in a public office for leaking information to a journalist for money on 8th March. The former prison officer, Richard Trunkfield, worked at Woodhill Prison near Milton Keynes where one of James Bulger’s killers, Jon Venebles, was held.
It can now be reported that it was details about Venables that the officer had passed on to The Sun newspaper.
Former Surrey Police officer Alan Tierney of Hayling Island, Hampshire was sentenced to ten months and six months imprisonment, to run concurrently, having pleaded guilty to misconduct in a public office for leaking information to a journalist for money on two occasions.
Former prison officer Richard Trunkfield of Moulton, Northamptonshire was sentenced to 16 months imprisonment having pleaded guilty to misconduct in a public office for leaking information to a journalist for money.
The Met Police said following the sentences that “this case demonstrates that behaviour of this kind will not be tolerated.”
Operation Elveden is the ongoing inquiry into allegations of inappropriate payments to police and public officials running in conjunction with Operation Weeting, the MPS phone hacking inquiry.
