Three former News Of The World journalists have pleaded guilty to phone hacking charges.
The Old Bailey heard on Wednesday that ex-chief correspondent Neville Thurlbeck, former assistant news editor James Weatherup, and ex-news editor Greg Miskiw had pleaded guilty to conspiracy to intercept communications at earlier hearings.
Private detective Glenn Mulcaire had also admitted phone hacking, prosecutor Andrew Edis QC said.
The revelations came at the beginning of a trial of eight defendants who face 15 phone-hacking related charges between them.
Rebekah Brooks denies the hacking charges Ex-News International chief executive Rebekah Brooks and former NOTW editor and ex-Downing Street spin-doctor Andy Coulson are accused of conspiring to illegally access voicemail messages on mobile phones. Both deny the charges.
Opening the case for the prosecution, Mr Edis told jurors "journalists are no more entitled to break the criminal law than anybody else".
He said there was "no justification" for newspaper staff to get involved in phone hacking or to make payments to public officials.
Coulson and Brooks, both 45, are alleged to have conspired with former NOTW head of news Ian Edmondson, the tabloid's ex-managing editor Stuart Kuttner, and others to illegally access voicemails between October 3, 2000 and August 9, 2006.
Brooks is also charged with two counts of conspiring with others to commit misconduct in public office - one between January 1, 2004 and January 31, 2012 and the other between February 9, 2006 and October 16, 2008 - linked to alleged inappropriate payments to public officials.
She faces another two allegations of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice,
Ex-Downing Street spin doctor Andy Coulson also denies the charges It is alleged she conspired to remove seven boxes of material from the News International archive between July 6 and 9, 2011 with her former personal assistant Cheryl Carter.
The second count alleges that Brooks, her husband Charles Brooks and former head of security at News International Mark Hanna conspired together and with others between July 15 and July 19, 2011 to pervert the course of justice.
It is claimed that they tried to conceal documents, computers and other electronic equipment from police officers who were investigating allegations of phone hacking and corruption of public officials in relation to the News of the World and The Sun newspapers.
Coulson is also facing two allegations that he conspired with the tabloid's former royal editor Clive Goodman, and persons unknown to commit misconduct in public office - between August 31, 2002 and January 31, 2003, and between January 31 and June 3, 2005.
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