Yesterday morning the Old Bailey heard that in February 2005, soon after rejoining the newspaper from the Sunday People, Mr Edmondson instructed a clerk, James Morgan, to stop paying £2,000 a week to News Consultancy, one of Mulcaire’s companies.
After lunch yesterday, prosecutor Mark Bryant-Heron read out an email from Mr Edmondson to Mulcaire renewing his contract until February 2007.
Before the contract concluded, Mulcaire was arrested by the Metropolitan Police and pleaded guilty in November 2006 – and again this year – to illegally accessing voicemail messages.
In the message, Mr Edmondson wrote: “This is to confirm that your contract will remain the same… Regards, Ian Edmondson. Happy now? Grumpy.”
In other email correspondence, the NoW royal editor, Clive Goodman told Mr Edmondson: “The tale comes from William himself.” In another message, Mr Goodman said he assumed that the news editor had been using some of the “dark arts.”
Mr Bryant-Heron quoted from a letter from NoW managing editor, Bill Akass to Mr Edmondson on 27 January 2011 dismissing him from his position as Associate Editor (News), for gross misconduct arising from illegal voicemail interception.
Mr Edmondson and the other defendants deny all charges. The case continues.