Cleared journalist launches blistering attack on British prosecutors, accusing them of treating him like a 'murderer or terrorist'

Police were accused of treating a senior journalist like a ‘murderer or terrorist’ yesterday as charges against him were finally thrown out of court.

Graham Dudman, 51, launched a blistering attack on the authorities as his three-year ordeal of ‘mental torment’ came to an end.

The former Sun managing editor walked out of the Old Bailey a free man after prosecutors formally abandoned the case against him.

Mr Dudman had been accused of conspiracy to commit misconduct in public office.

In a furious broadside, he said a ‘truly grotesque’ sum of public money had been spent investigating journalists. But he said that a combination of a damning High Court ruling and repeated jury acquittals have exposed the £20million inquiry as a ‘politically motivated witch-hunt’.

‘How can it possibly be right the squad investigating journalists for publishing true stories in the public interest was allocated twice the number of detective than a murder squad? ‘Somebody somewhere got their priorities horribly wrong.

‘While today’s hearing marks the end of the process for me, three of my colleagues from The Sun still face trials and my thoughts today are with them and their families.

‘I’m now looking forward to getting on with the rest of my life and hope that journalism - a vital part of any democracy – is never again subjected to such an appalling attack.’

Mr Dudman was among nine journalists whose cases were dropped by the Crown Prosecution Service after an urgent review. Director of Public Prosecutions Alison Saunders announced the dramatic climbdown after juries repeatedly threw out cases.

Describing his arrest, Mr Dudman said: ‘They confiscated my passport before locking me in a cell, stripping me of any dignity and swabbing my mouth for DNA. I was treated like a murderer or a terrorist.'

Original report here

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