The jury has been selected for the Old Bailey trial of former News of the World journalist Ryan Sabey, who has been charged in relation to alleged unlawful payments to a soldier for stories.
His co-defendant, former British army soldier Paul Brunt, is facing two counts of misconduct in public office, the first relating to the sale of stories to the News of the World between 1 April 2006 and 1 November 2007 and the second to the Sun between 1 June 2006 and 1 May 2007.
Sabey, who is now working on the Sun, is facing a single count of aiding and abetting Brunt eight years ago when he worked at the News of the World.
Brunt was a serving soldier at the time of the alleged offence.
Both have pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The jury was empanelled after two attempts. During the first attempt, one of three individuals who was stood down was a man who told the presiding judge, Judge Charles Wide, he worked for the Guardian newspaper.
Among the several categories of people barred from sitting on this jury were journalists or someone who worked for a news organisation.
The opening of the trial at court three of the Old Bailey brings the number of Sun journalists currently in the dock over alleged payments to public officers to five.
In court 16, four senior journalists are standing trial: the Sun’s deputy editor Geoff Webster, its executive editor Fergus Shanahan, its chief reporter John Kay and its royal editor Duncan Larcombe. All four deny all charges.
The trials continue.
