Former News of the World editor Andy Coulson has been released from prison today after serving less than five months of an 18-month sentence.

Coulson, 46, was jailed along with several other senior staff at the now-defunct tabloid for plotting to hack phones.

He was found guilty in June this year of conspiring to intercept voicemails, and in July was sentenced to 18 months in prison.

Orignally sent to Belmarsh, Coulson was moved to an open prison in the weeks before to his release.

As a condition of his early release, Coulson will have to wear an electronic tag.

After leaving the News of the World, Coulson became Prime Minister David Cameron’s official spokesman.

Co-defendant Rebekah Brooks - who also edited the paper and went on to become chief executive of News International - was cleared of all the charges against her.

The trial was one of the longest and most expensive in British criminal history.

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