Phone-hacking journalist Evans spared jail

A former News of the World reporter has been spared jail after giving key evidence in the case against his old boss, Andy Coulson, in the phone-hacking trial.

Dan Evans accessed the voicemails of some 200 celebrities, sports people and politicians and listened to more than 1,000 of their messages over a period of seven years.

Last year, he pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiring to hack phones — one when he worked at the Sunday Mirror between 2003 and 2005 and one after he was poached by the NotW between 2004 and 2010.