Friday, January 20, 2012

Andy Coulson Puts His Home Up For Sale

Former News of the World editor Andy Coulson has put his house up for sale, reports Guido Fawkes. The estate agent's asking price for the five-bedroomed Victorian detached house in south London is £1,625,000.

On 21 December, Coulson lost his high court bid to force News Group Newspapers to pay his potential legal costs over the phone hacking affair. The judge also ordered Coulson to pay NGN's costs and refused him permission to appeal.

Later that day, Guido Fawkes revealed that Coulson was going to have to take his kids out of private school and would have to sell the family home.
Coulson resigned as David Cameron's director of communications in January last year and is not thought to have worked since.

He was arrested and bailed on 8 July by the Metropolitan police in connection with conspiracy to unlawfully intercept communications and payments to police officers. He has consistently denied allegations of criminal wrongdoing.
Coulson recently attended the funeral for Daily Mirror columnist Sue Carroll and was also a guest at a party to celebrate the release of the movie W.E.
According to Daily Telegraph diarist Tim Walker, another former News of the World editor, Rebekah Brooks, also attended both events.

Coulson and Brooks are said not to have spoken. As the subjects of a criminal investigation, it might be thought ill advised for them to communicate.

Brooks resigned as News International's chief executive in July last year and was arrested three days later by police investigating allegations of phone hacking and allegations that police officers were bribed.

Brooks and Coulson used to be close friends. When she was briefly detained by police in November 2005 after a domestic dispute with her then husband, Ross Kemp, it was Coulson who turned up to offer assistance at the police station.

Roy Greenslade at the Guardian