A prison officer who received more than £10,000 for confidential information he gave to a tabloid journalist has been jailed.

Robert Norman, 54, of Swanscombe, was found guilty of a misconduct in a public office at the Old Bailey yesterday while working at HMP Belmarsh.

Today, he was sentenced to 20 months behind bars.

The court heard Norman sold stories to the now defunct News of the World and the Mirror newspaper between April 2006 and May 2011.

Information he provided resulted in 26 stories in the Mirror, for which Norman was paid £8,384 and five articles in the News of the World, for which he received £2,300.

He asked for 15 of the corrupt payments to be made to his son to avoid raising suspicion.

He first made contact with the Mirror in 2006 when he called them about staffing cuts at the high-security jail.

The tip-off was published as an exclusive with Norman receiving £400.

He remained in contact with the journalist as he moved from the Mirror to the News of the World.

"Much of the information Norman sold to the journalist was not in the public interest and often relied on the notoriety of high-profile prisoners..." - Det Ch Supt Gordon Briggs

He was arrested by detectives from Operation Elveden in 2013 and admitted supplying the information but denied that it was for nothing other than personal gain.

Detective Chief Superintendent, Gordon Briggs, who leads Operation Elveden, said: "Robert Norman is the first public official to be tried and found guilty since the CPS review of Operation Elveden cases.

"Norman leaked confidential information obtained in the course of his duties to journalists for private gain. Over a five-year period he was paid in excess of £10,000.

"He was not a whistleblower as he attempted to portray in court, his corrupt activity was primarily motivated by money.

"Much of the information Norman sold to the journalist was not in the public interest and often relied on the notoriety of high-profile prisoners.

"Norman even passed information about colleagues and some he personally knew through his activities as a union representative.

"Norman breached the considerable trust that was placed in him by the public without reasonable excuse or justification.

"His dishonest actions damaged the public interest and merit criminal sanction."

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