Two top journalists used by The Sun, the Mail, the Mirror and the Express charged with allegedly putting an ‘illegal’ tracker on a car
- CELEBRITY PHOTOGRAPHERS Matt Sprake and Andy Stone allegedly fixed tracker on a vehicle they were following
- THE SNAPPERS work for Splash News UK, one of Britain’s top paparazzi agencies
- THEIR PICTURES are published in The Sun, the Mirror, the Daily Express, the Daily Mail, Mail Online and the Mail on Sunday
- PRESS REFORM group Hacked Off have called on the new Labour government for tougher regulation.
- SPRAKE AND STONE were allegedly targeting Paula Vennells, the controversial former boss of the Post Office
- THE PAIR were arrested outside Vennells’ home in Bedfordshire, after following her husband John Wilson, who was driving her car
By Graham Johnson | Editor, Byline Investigates & Expose News
TWO HIGHLY EXPERIENCED tabloid journalists have been charged with using an electronic device for unlawful information gathering.
The photographers were allegedly caught placing a tracker on a victim’s car in January this year.
Matt Sprake, 54, and Andy Stone, 57, were arrested by Bedfordshire Police after allegedly installing a GPS Electronic Tracker Device on January 24.
The car is owned by controversial former Post Office boss Paula Vennells.
Vennells was targeted by the tabloids in the wake of the ITV drama Mr Bates vs The Post Office broadcast in the New Year.
The ex-Post Office CEO was blamed for covering up evidence in the latter part of the Horizon scandal.
The revelations have shocked press reform campaigners as tabloid newspapers have repeatedly claimed to have cleaned up their act following the phone hacking scandal 13 years ago.
There is no suggestion that Splash News, or its clients at the Mail, Mirror, Express and The Sun, were involved in the alleged offence, or knew about the alleged tracker.
However, Hacked Off – the campaign for a free and accountable press – told Byline Investigates that the allegations, if proven, show that ‘nothing had changed’ since the phone hacking scandal.
Hacked Off board member Emma Jones said: ‘Newspapers vowed they had cleaned up their act after Leveson, but todays news that veteran Fleet Street photographers – who supply The Sun and the Mail on a regular basis with big name pictures – have been charged with alleged illegal tracking shows that nothing has changed.’
Stone and Sprake have been charged ‘with stalking without fear /alarm/distress, contrary to section 2A(1) and (4) of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997.’
The alleged offences took place over a week, earlier this year between 17 – 24 January 2024 near Vennells’ grade II listed home in the quiet village.
Bedfordshire Police have accused Sprake and Stone of ‘a course of conduct which amounted to the stalking of Paula Vennells, and which you knew or ought to have known, amounted to the harassment of her in that together ….you took photographs of her address, placed a tracker on her car and followed her vehicle…’
Stone and Sprake pleaded not guilty to the charges last month on August 07 at Luton and South Bedfordshire Magistrates’ Court.
The next hearing is on 18 February 2025.
The pair have been bailed under the condition that they do not contact directly or indirectly Vennells or Wilson.
Both Sprake and Stone have had long and successful careers in the tabloids.
Sprake, of Grays, Essex, has photographed hundreds of stars including the late Queen, Katie Price, Tom Cruise, Meghan Markle, Ronnie Wood, Anthony Hopkins and George Clooney.
He sparked controversy at the Leveson Inquiry into press ethics set up in the wake of the phone hacking scandal.
The long lens photographer told of carrying out surveillance on more than 300 people in a two-year period, almost always involving the use of covert methods.
Two of his targets were specifically mentioned during his questioning – Gerry and Kate McCann.
Andy Stone, of Southampton, Hampshire, is a veteran red top operator who is well-respected in the industry.
One source told Byline Investigates & Expose News that Vennells was alerted to unusual activity outside her home on January 24 which was caught on video camera.
The images were captured in real time and beamed to Vennells, or her security company, who called the police immediately.
Officers arrived quickly on the scene.
The alleged offences took place two weeks after Vennells was depicted in Mr Bates vs The Post Office in which she was played by actress Lia Williams.
The four-part series sparked national outrage and Vennells has since been blamed for being involved in the cover-up, which she denies.
More than 700 subpostmasters were prosecuted for theft by the Post Office and handed criminal convictions between 1999 and 2015 as the faulty IT system it used, known as Horizon, made it appear as though money was missing at their branches.
Many were sent to jail and bankrupted, while at least four are believed to have taken their own lives over it.
Vennells was the CEO of Post Office Ltd during the latter part of the Post Office scandal.
Hacked Off’s Emma Jones added: ‘The highly-paid paparazzi were on the payroll of one of Britain’s biggest picture agencies, Splash News.
‘We need independent regulation of the press now, to restore trust and ensure these alleged abuses cannot go on.
‘This government has promised candour and change, and now Labour must act on its promises and deliver the promises it made to the victims of the press.’
Sprake, Stone and Splash News have been approached for comment.
A spokesperson for Bedfordshire Police confirmed the charges, and said: ‘We have nothing further to add at this stage.’
CORRECTION: The first edition of this story contained the following paragraphs:
Splash News UK is run by John Edwards, the former picture editor of The Sun who was cleared of corruption and misconduct in public office in 2015, after an investigation into payments to public officials by the newspaper.
There is no suggestion that Edwards or his clients at the Mail, Mirror, Express and The Sun were involved in the alleged offence, or knew about the alleged tracker.
Byline Investigates has been informed that John Edwards no longer runs Splash News. We are happy to acknowledge this assertion was innaccurate, and the association unfair to both parties. The information has been removed from the copy above.
