LONDON, Dec. 20 (UPI) -- Two reporters and a former editor of the British newspaper the Sun said Friday they did not pay officials for stories at London's criminal courts complex.
The charges resulted from a Metropolitan police investigation of alleged illegal payments by newspapers to public officials, the British newspaper the Guardian reported.
During a hearing, journalist Jamie Pyatt, photo editor John Edwards and former deputy news editor Ben O'Driscoll pleaded not guilty to a charge of conspiracy to commit misconduct in public office by paying officials.
The alleged offenses involving officials at two prisons, two police agencies and the British armed forces are alleged to have occurred from March 2002 to January 2011.
The first trial of the journalists is not expected to begin until April 2014.
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