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| Rebekah Brooks and Piers Morgan 'exchanged banter about hacking phones' | Rebekah Brooks and Piers Morgan 'exchanged banter about hacking phones' |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Rebekah Brooks and Piers Morgan exchanged banter at a dinner party in January 2003 about hacking each others' messages, the Old Bailey has heard. | |
| Former solicitor Ambi Sitham said the "pointed" exchanges between the two newspaper editors took place at a steak restaurant in south London. | |
| The Mirror editor told Mrs Brooks he knew what her front page was "because I've been listening to your messages". | The Mirror editor told Mrs Brooks he knew what her front page was "because I've been listening to your messages". |
| Mrs Brooks, 45, denies conspiracy to hack phones. | |
| Mrs Brooks, of Churchill, Oxfordshire, also denies conspiracy to commit misconduct and perverting the course of justice. | |
| She left the editorship of the News of the World - where she was succeeded by Mr Coulson - to take over at the Sun in January 2003. | |
| Front covers | |
| Ms Sitham, speaking by videolink from the US, said there were 18 to 20 people at the restaurant to celebrate the birthday of Andy Coulson, who is also a defendant in the trial. | |
| She was at the dinner with her then-boyfriend, who was a friend of Mr Coulson. | |
| Ms Sitham said Mr Morgan and Mrs Brooks were both "busy" on their mobile phones. | |
| "At the time they were both editors of quite big national tabloid newspapers and they were both very busy trying to finish off the last details of their front covers, or splashes, for their newspapers," she said. | |
| Ms Sitham told the court Mr Morgan had said to Mr Brooks: "I already know what your cover is because I've been listening to your messages." | |
| The witness said Mrs Brooks replied: "Been hacking into my phone again have you Piers?" | |
| Mr Morgan then said "well you've been looking at my emails", according to Ms Sitham. | |
| The former solicitor also said that, when she offered her number to Mrs Brooks later in the evening, Mr Morgan turned to her and said: "Careful, she'll tap your phone." | |
| Mr Coulson, 45, of Charing, Kent, denies phone hacking and two counts of conspiracy to commit misconduct in public office. |