Reporter charged over Tulisa Contostavlos drugs trial

An undercover reporter has been charged with conspiring to pervert the course of justice over the collapsed drugs trial of British singer Tulisa Contostavlos.
The former N-Dubz star went on trial last year (14) accused of brokering a cocaine deal for undercover newspaper journalist Mazher Mahmood in 2013.
Contostavlos was sensationally cleared of being concerned in the supply of drugs just days into the trial after the judge found inconsistencies with The Sun on Sunday reporter’s evidence.
Nick Vamos, deputy head of special crime of Britain’s Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), has confirmed Mahmood and his driver Alan Smith, a fellow witness in the case, have now been charged with conspiring to pervert the course of justice.
He said, “After carefully considering all of the evidence the CPS has decided that there is sufficient evidence for a realistic prospect of conviction and it is in the public interest to charge both men… This decision comes after it was alleged that Mr Smith agreed with Mr Mahmood to change his statement to police as part of a trial in July 2014, and that Mr Mahmood then misled the court.”
Mahmood, who was suspended from the newspaper after the trial’s collapse, denies the allegations and adds, “I will vigorously contest it at court.”
Mahmood and Smith are scheduled to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on 30 October (15).