Two UK officials admit selling secrets to Murdoch's Sun

LONDON, March 8 (Reuters) - An ex-policeman and a prison officer admitted on Friday to selling information to the Sun, a British tabloid newspaper owned by Rupert Murdoch, in the first guilty pleas to come out of a huge police investigation into wrongdoing by journalists.

Former police officer Alan Tierney pleaded guilty to two counts of misconduct in public office for selling stories about the mother of England soccer player John Terry and about Rolling Stones member Ronnie Wood, the Press Association (PA) reported.

Prison officer Richard Trunkfield pleaded guilty to one count of misconduct in public office for selling information about a high-profile prisoner, the PA reported.

The charges against the pair stemmed from an inquiry launched in January 2011 into allegations journalists from Murdoch's now defunct News of the World newspaper had hacked voicemails of mobile phones.

That inquiry was later widened to include other illegal activities, including payments to public officials for stories.