London: Britain's mammoth phone-hacking probe finally came to an end Friday after a four-year investigation that rocked the political and media establishment to the core.
Prosecutors announced they would take no further action over remaining allegations, and Scotland Yard confirmed it has closed the files on the huge investigation.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said it would take no further action against News Group Newspapers (NGN), global media baron Rupert Murdoch's British tabloid publisher.
England's state prosecutors also said there would be no further action against 10 journalists from the rival Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN) stable -- among them former Daily Mirror editor Piers Morgan.
"Police investigations into phone hacking have concluded," a spokeswoman for Scotland Yard police headquarters confirmed after the CPS announcement.
The phone hacking scandal, which first emerged in 2006 and resurfaced explosively in 2011, engulfed top newspaper executives, police chiefs and politicians.
The maelstrom swiftly sank the expose-led News of the World weekly tabloid, which was Britain's biggest-selling newspaper.
Its former editor Andy Coulson, later Prime Minister David Cameron's media chief, was among the nine journalists convicted and was jailed.
Rebekah Brooks, his NotW predecessor and former lover, was acquitted of all charges.
'Witch-hunt'
"The politically-driven, tabloid-hating witch-hunt is over at last," said former NotW deputy editor Neil Wallis, who was cleared of conspiracy to hack phones.
The probes into voicemail interception and other alleged media crimes amounted to the biggest police investigation in British history.
By May 2015, Scotland Yard had spent £37.4 million ($57 million, 51.8 million euros) on the probes.
Though journalists from Murdoch's publications had been individually convicted of voicemail interception offences, the CPS was also considering whether to prosecute NGN as a whole for corporate liability.
It was further deciding whether to bring phone hacking charges against 10 MGN journalists.
But Alison Saunders, the director of public prosecutions, announced the CPS was dropping both probes.
Insufficient evidence
"We have decided there is insufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of a conviction and therefore no further action will be taken in any of these cases," she said.
"There has been considerable public concern about phone hacking and invasion of privacy. Over the past three years, we have brought 12 prosecutions and secured nine convictions for these serious offences.
"These decisions bring the CPS's involvement in current investigations into phone hacking to a close."
The CPS said they had been considering potential corporate charges of phone hacking and perverting the course of justice against NGN.
However, "there is no evidence to suggest that any member of the board of NGN had knowledge of phone hacking when it was taking place," the CPS said.
Furthermore, there was "no evidence" that NGN's mass email deletion policy "was undertaken in order to pervert the course of justice", it added.
'Double-tapping' at MGN
Meanwhile the CPS considered files on 10 MGN journalists relating to phone hacking allegations.
Phonecall data showed a "regular pattern" of two calls being placed to the same number at the same time -- so-called double-tapping to ensure a second call went to voicemail -- and a high volume of calls to voicemail numbers.
However, it was "not possible to determine which individuals were responsible for making specific calls", or that all these calls were phone hacking.
Morgan, who was interviewed twice by police but not arrested, said he was among the 10 told they faced no further action.
"As I've said since the investigation began four years ago, I've never hacked a phone and nor have I ever told anybody to hack a phone," he said on Twitter.
"I'm now going to get spectacularly drunk."
A spokeswoman for NGN parent company News UK said: "Long ago, we apologised for the conduct that occurred, immediately took steps to pay compensation to those affected, and updated and instituted substantial reforms in our business.
"This matter has been concluded and the right decision has been taken."
She added: "We are mindful of the many employees and their families who endured great hardship during these past few years."
At least two journalists are thought to have attempted suicide as the scandal unfolded.
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