If the ComputerMisuseAct did offer such defense, the public interest in obtaining information via interception of emails would still have to be weighed by the courts.
The ComputerMisuseAct 1990 states that anyone who gains unauthorised access to (or modifies) computer material may be liable to up to 2 years in prison (Section 1).
Scotland Yard said the arrest - under Section 1 of the ComputerMisuseAct 1990 - relates to a "suspected conspiracy" involving the gathering of data from stolen mobile phones.
Unlike the outing of Horton, the hacking carried out by Sky News seems to have been a carefully considered decision by a senior executive as to whether it was in the public interest to commit a prima facie breach of the ComputerMisuseAct.
Proclaimed as the first victim of Singapore's newly-enforced ComputerMisuseAct, the 17-year old Garyl Tan Jia Luo picked up 18 months of probation (some of which will be at home) instead of jail time, but what's potentially worse is the fact that he is not allowed to access the internet during his stint.