Goodman said we will 'all end up in jail' if payments are traced

A News of the World reporter warned in 2005 that he, the editor and others "would all end up in jail" if cash payments to confidential sources were traced, an Old Bailey trial has heard.

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In one email sent in July 2005 to Beverley Stokes, an assistant in the managing editor's office, Mr Goodman asked about payment to his sources.

The email shown to the jury included a copy of an earlier message he had sent to Stuart Kuttner, the managing editor and another co-defendant.

This earlier email read: "Morning Stuart. Understand that, as you know, there are only three people I ever pay in cash. Two are in uniform and we - them, you, me, the editor - would all end up in jail if anyone traced their payments."

"They've had Special Branch crawling all over them since we ran a . . . story about an Operation Trident arrest . . . Thanks to the way we pay them, they're untraceable," the email continued.

It went on: "The third [person] is an executive at another newspaper who is also taking on potentially life altering risks for us and will not accept any other form of payment."

Another email shown to the jury from Mr Goodman to Ms Stokes successfully chasing up payments to a source said: "Fantastic. I won't be found in the Thames wearing concrete wellies tonight. Thank you."

Ms Stokes replied by email: "Jeez. You mix with all the good people don't you."

Under cross-examination by Tim Langdale QC, representing Andy Coulson, Ms Stokes was asked about Mr Goodman. She agreed she had quite a lot of email contact with him about getting payments through.

Prosecutors also showed the jury a series of documents including emails from News International executives in 2011, as the phone-hacking scandal deepened. These included a March 2011 email from a News International employee detailing allegations made by Chris Bryant, a Labour MP.

Charlie Brooks, a defendant in the trial and the husband of Rebekah Brooks, sent an email shortly afterwards to Will Lewis, a News International executive, asking: "Hi Will - Is Rebekah OK?"

Mr Lewis replied to Mr Brooks: "Charlie - she's OK. We were flat out with other things with Rupert all of yesterday so it didn't really have an effect . . . Bryant is clearly making stuff up. There is a concerted effort by him, some other MPs and Panaroma [a TV documentary programme] . . . to push the start of the saga back before 2005 in order to target Rebekah. We will not let that happen," the email read.

Mr Coulson and Mr Goodman deny two charges of conspiracy to commit misconduct in a public office. Mr Coulson also denies a charge of conspiracy to intercept voicemail messages, as does Mr Kuttner.

Ms Brooks denies five criminal charges. The other defendants in the trial who face a variety of charges also deny any wrongdoing.

The trial continues.

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