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British PM's ex-media chief said hacking Daniel Craig's phone was 'brilliant,' jury hears

Andy Coulson served as British Prime Minister David Cameron's director of communications after leaving the News of the World newspaper.
Andy Coulson served as British Prime Minister David Cameron's director of communications after leaving the News of the World newspaper.Suzanne Plunkett / Reuters

LONDON -- British Prime Minister David Cameron's former communications director demanded to hear a hacked voicemail message revealing an affair between "James Bond" star Daniel Craig and actress Sienna Miller, a court heard Tuesday.

Andy Coulson "became animated" and exclaimed "brilliant" after hearing the recording while he was serving as editor of Britain's now-defunct News of the World newspaper, according to evidence given by ex-reporter Dan Evans at London's Old Bailey court.

"I hacked every phone I could possibly think of hacking, including one of an actor called Daniel Craig, who might be better known as James Bond," Evans told the jury.

Journalists from the News of the World were looking into the private lives of actors Daniel Craig, left, Jude Law and Sienna Miller, a court heard.
Journalists from the News of the World were looking into the private lives of actors Daniel Craig, left, Jude Law and Sienna Miller, a court heard.AP, Getty Images, file

Evans recalled details of a voicemail on Craig's phone which was sent from Miller while she was out with her then boyfriend Jude Law.

"I heard a female voice saying, 'Hi, it’s me, can’t speak, at the Groucho [an upmarket London private club] with Jude, I love you.'" Evans added: "When I checked the number, I came up with Sienna Miller’s number."

Coulson was editor of the News of the World until 2007 and later served as Cameron's director of communications.

He has pleaded not guilty to a charge of conspiracy to illegally intercept voicemail messages on cellphones and another of conspiracy to commit misconduct in a public office.

Evans is a former News of the World journalist who has admitted hacking charges. He told the court he is a recovering drug user and confirmed that he has committed perjury on a previous occasion when he denied phone hacking at London's High Court.

Acting as a prosecution witness, Evans told the jury on Tuesday that an editor, who cannot be named for legal reasons, "bullied" him into hacking Craig’s phone.

Daniel Evans, a former journalist at the now-defunct News of the World and the Sunday Mirror, arrives at London's Old Bailey courthouse on Tuesday.
Daniel Evans, a former journalist at the now-defunct News of the World and the Sunday Mirror, arrives at London's Old Bailey courthouse on Tuesday.Suzanne Plunkett / Reuters

"[The editor] sent me an email saying if you don’t come up with a front page story, you might as well jump off a cliff," Evans said. "He had a nasty habit of shouting on emails, writing everything in capital letters. It was very scary, I was in fear for my job, to put it mildly."

Evans added: "It stuck with me, I remember getting in on Friday and going into the weekend feeling terrorized really."

Coulson is one of seven people who deny charges related to phone hacking. Also among this group is Rebekah Brooks, another former News of the World editor and chief executive of Rupert Murdoch's News International. She denies charges of phone hacking, making corrupt payments to public officials and perverting the course of justice.

The trial continues.

Central News press agency contributed to this report.