Prince William and Kate Middleton-Tailer Is Latest Arrestee in Phone-Hacking Scandal

News of the World's former showbiz and Hollywood reporter becomes 13th journalist busted in tabloid case

By Gina Serpe Aug 18, 2011 6:23 PMTags
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Prince William and KatherineFame Pictures

What we've got here is a royal mess.

Former News of the World reporter James Desborough had the misfortune of becoming the doubly unlucky 13th so-called journalist to get pulled into the ever-deepening phone-hacking scandal of the fallen tabloid. Particularly troubling is that he was also one of the reporters who recently trailed Prince William and Kate Middleton on their North American tour this summer.

So who'd he allegedly hack? And what was the scoop that was juicy enough to warrant spending some time (possibly, a very, very long time) in lockup?

Well, even alleged hackers (or at least, this one) aren't dumb enough to mess with the crown. Despite chronicling the comings and goings (and clothings) of the royal newlyweds this summer (including a brief stint as a guest royals correspondent for E!), Will and Kate are not among the stars Desborough allegedly hacked.

Instead, he's accused of profiling a handful of British stars, with the most high profile being Heather Mills, who was obviously on to something earlier this month, when she told the press that she suspected she had been targeted by the tabloid. He allegedly produced a series of exclusive stories on Mills during the time of her divorce from Paul McCartney.

In any case, it's unclear whether the reporter, who worked for the tabloid for five years before getting sent to Hollywood in 2009 and who was once named Showbiz Writer of the Year at the British Press Awards, is alleged to have engaged in the illegal hacking whether he was at the tabloid or before.

While he has been arrested and brought in for questioning by the London Metropolitan Police, he has yet to be formally charged with any crimes. Typically—at least in the case of the dozen reporters arrested in the so-called Operation Weeting (no, seriously) before him—the reporters are released after questioning and ordered to slink back, er, return in the fall.