UK reporter handed suspended sentence in bribery case

London - A British tabloid reporter has been handed a suspended 18-month prison sentence over a police bribery case.

Anthony France, a crime reporter for the Rupert Murdoch-owned newspaper, The Sun, was accused of cultivating a "corrupt relationship" with Heathrow Airport counter-terrorism officer Timothy Edwards over four years. Edwards had earlier admitted selling dozens of stories and news tips to the journalist for more than 20 000 pounds.

France, aged 41, was convicted last week of aiding and abetting Edwards to commit misconduct in a public office.

Judge Timothy Pontius on Friday handed down the prison sentence, suspended for two years. He said France was "essentially a decent man of solid integrity."

France's trial followed a police investigation into alleged media bribery. The operation was triggered by Britain's phone-hacking media scandal.