Andy Coulson is alive and working in corporate communications and crisis PR after serving a prison sentence for his role in the UK phone‑hacking scandal. He has rebuilt his career through his own agencies and media work, and remains publicly active in interviews and podcasts.

Quick Scoop: The Short Version

  • Andy Coulson went from powerful tabloid editor and Downing Street communications chief to being convicted over phone hacking and serving time in prison.
  • After his release, he moved into reputation and crisis‑management consulting and gradually re‑entered public life through podcasts, interviews and a PR agency.
  • As of the mid‑2020s, he is running his own communications business, speaking publicly about his fall and comeback, and hosting/appearing on crisis‑themed podcasts.

Who Andy Coulson Is

  • Andy Coulson is an English journalist and political strategist, best known as former editor of the News of the World and later communications director for then‑Prime Minister David Cameron.
  • He edited the News of the World from 2003 to 2007, then joined Cameron’s team before resigning from government in 2011 as scrutiny over phone hacking intensified.

What Went Wrong: Phone‑Hacking Scandal

  • While Coulson was editor, journalists at the News of the World engaged in illegal phone hacking and related misconduct in pursuit of stories, part of the wider News International phone‑hacking scandal.
  • In 2014 he was found guilty of conspiring to hack voicemails and sentenced to 18 months in prison, marking a dramatic public fall from influence and power.

After Prison: Career Rebuild

  • Coulson later faced the prospect of additional trials over related misconduct, but a planned retrial was dropped in 2015 and he was acquitted in a separate perjury case.
  • In 2016 he launched a corporate PR and crisis‑management agency (commonly reported as Coulson Chappell/Coulson Partners), aimed at advising high‑profile clients on reputation and strategy.

Where He Is Now (Latest Public Picture)

  • By the mid‑2020s, Coulson is described as still running his crisis‑communications firm and positioning himself as an adviser for people and organisations under intense public pressure.
  • He appears on podcasts and in interviews discussing cancel culture, crisis recovery, and his own experiences of being “cancelled, convicted and coming back,” and he hosts or features on the podcast “Crisis? What Crisis?”.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.