London: A former news editor at Rupert Murdoch's now-defunct Sunday tabloid, 'News of the World', was on Friday jailed for eight months for his role in phone hacking, becoming the eighth person from the erstwhile newspaper to be convicted.
45-year-old Ian Edmondson admitted his part in the plot to hack phones last month.
The Old Bailey court heard he lost his home, became depressed and was now dependent on alcohol because of the case.
Among those whose phones were hacked included sports stars, celebrities, royalty and politicians.
Edmondson, a senior editorial figure at the 'News of the World' between 2005 and 2010, admitted conspiring with private investigator Glenn Mulcaire to listen to victims' voicemail messages.
Sentencing him, Justice Saunders said he only had himself to blame.
Edmondson had been in the dock at the beginning of the eight-month trial which saw his former boss Andy Coulson jailed for 18 months and former chief executive officer Rebekah Brooks cleared of any wrongdoing.
But after 29 days of evidence, he was excused from attending court each day due to ill health.
Justice Saunders said, "I am satisfied that he is suffering from depression as well as having other medical problems. Edmondson was dismissed from his job at the 'News of the World' and he has lost his reputation as a journalist."
He was suspended from the tabloid in 2010, when emails emerged, implicating him in phone hacking following which he was sacked in 2011.
The three emails, which were handed to the Metropolitan Police by News International, triggered the phone-hacking investigation, known as Operation Weeting.
