Mark Hanna, the Head of Security for News International, has been found not guilty in the phone hacking trial at the Old Bailey in London today.
Hanna was one of seven defendants on trial for charges related to phone hacking at the former News of the World newspaper. He had been charged with conspiracy to pervert the course of justice and was cleared along with Cheryl Carter and Charlie Brooks.
Other verdicts in the trial were:
- Former News of the World editor and Downing Street director of communications Andy Coulson was found guilty of a charge of conspiracy to intercept voicemails
- Rebekah Brooks, former editor of the News of the World, was found not guilty of conspiracy to hack voicemails, two counts of conspiracy to pay public officials and two counts of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice.
- Stuart Kuttner, formerly managing editor of News of the World, was found not guilty of conspiring to hack voicemails.
The jury is still considering further verdicts against Coulson and Clive Goodman, former royal editor for the paper, for charges of misconduct in public office.
Hanna has over 18 years’ experience in corporate security and prior to joining News International in April 2009 was Vice President (Head of Security) at the financial institution, Nomura International.
Prior to that he worked for Wilson James, the manned security services company. Before that he was in the military where he was involved in explosives, close observation and royal protection.
Hanna is also on the editorial board of Professional Security magazine. He was also a judge of the 2011 Security Excellence Awards, organised by UBM.
As a member of the Security Institute, he got News International to take the gold sponsorship of the Security Institute’s 2010 annual conference.
In 2004 while at Nomura, Hanna started LISTEN, the London Intelligence Shared Transferred (via) Electronic Network which aims to share intelligence, hold regular seminars and provide a networking opportunity for security professionals.
