Two men jailed for plot to blackmail British royal

By Andrew Hough

LONDON (Reuters) - Two men were jailed for five years on Friday for what a judge described as a "dirty, filthy and hideous" attempt to blackmail a member of Britain's royal family with claims he had performed a gay sex act on an employee.

Ian Strachan, 31, and Sean McGuigan, 41, were found guilty of attempting to blackmail the royal, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, for 50,000 pounds ($98,390).

Prosecutors said video and audio recordings contained material from a man employed in the royal household which, if published, would have the potential to "cause embarrassment and hurt to his employer".

The recordings also contained "scandalous and disparaging remarks" about other royals, London's Old Bailey court heard.

Prosecutors said that between March and July 2007, Strachan approached several newspapers -- The News of the World, The Sun, the Sunday Express, Mail on Sunday -- and publicist Max Clifford to try to sell the material, asking for a "substantial sum".

When that failed, the pair approached the royal. They were arrested after an undercover police sting at a London hotel.

In statements read to the jury, the royal, know as Witness A, denounced the tape's allegations as "without foundation".

Despite the pair denying making an unwarranted demand with menaces, the jury of eight men and four women reached their unanimous verdict after less than a day.