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Ex-Editor Testifies About Underside of British Tabloids Testimony at Hacking Trial Gives Peek Into British Tabloids
(about 4 hours later)
LONDON — When Rebekah Brooks first entered the witness box in the phone hacking trial, her lawyer reminded the jury that she was not on trial for running Rupert Murdoch’s tabloid newspapers. LONDON — When Rebekah Brooks first entered the witness box in Britain’s phone hacking trial, her lawyer reminded the jury that she was not on trial for running Rupert Murdoch’s tabloid newspapers.
Even so, her testimony over the past two weeks has offered a rare view into the skating-on-the-edge culture of the popular press here, one that fascinates and revolts Britons in equal measure: the literal scavenging for stories lawyers’ trash cans; the hidden recording devices; the six-figure sums paid for exclusive access to the mistresses of celebrities; the private jets whisking those mistresses to expensive hide-outs from the competition. Even so, her testimony over the past two weeks has offered a rare view into the skating-on-the-edge culture of the popular press here, one that fascinates and revolts Britons in equal measure: the scavenging in lawyers’ trash cans; the hidden recording devices; the six-figure sums paid for exclusive access to the mistresses of celebrities; the private jets whisking those mistresses to expensive hide-outs from the competition.
Not to mention the illegal interception of mobile phone voice mail messages, which Ms. Brooks is accused of condoning when she was editor of The News of the World, the sensational weekly that Mr. Murdoch shut down because of the scandal. Like her six co-defendants in the trial, Ms. Brooks, who was later promoted to run all of Mr. Murdoch’s British newspapers, denies all the charges against her, including paying a public official for information and hiding evidence from police. Not to mention the illegal interception of mobile phone voice mail messages, which Ms. Brooks is accused of condoning when she was editor of The News of the World, the sensational weekly that Mr. Murdoch shut down because of the scandal. Like her six co-defendants in the trial, Ms. Brooks, who was later promoted to run all of Mr. Murdoch’s British newspapers, denies all the charges against her, including paying a public official for information and hiding evidence from the police.
Ms. Brooks, 45, was questioned about some of the crasser highlights of her career by her own lawyer, Jonathan Laidlaw, even before prosecutors began their cross-examination on Wednesday.Ms. Brooks, 45, was questioned about some of the crasser highlights of her career by her own lawyer, Jonathan Laidlaw, even before prosecutors began their cross-examination on Wednesday.
In 2004, when a former government minister, Clare Short, called the photographs of topless models that appear daily on Page 3 of another Murdoch tabloid, The Sun, Ms. Brooks, who was the editor of the paper at the time, hit back with a headline calling Ms. Short “'Fat, Jealous' Clare,” published an altered photograph combining Ms. Short’s head with a topless woman’s body, and sent a group of topless models to Ms. Short’s home in Birmingham to sneer and jeer. In 2004, when a former government minister, Clare Short, criticized the photographs of topless models that appear daily on Page 3 of another Murdoch tabloid, The Sun, Ms. Brooks, who was the editor of the paper at the time, hit back with a headline calling Ms. Short “ ‘Fat, Jealous’ Clare.” Ms. Brooks also published an altered photograph combining Ms. Short’s head with a topless woman’s body, and sent a group of topless models to Ms. Short’s home in Birmingham to sneer and jeer.
Ms. Brooks took a different line in court: “This was one where, again, the reaction of the paper – I’m the editor, my responsibility – was cruel and harsh,” she told the jury. “We did it in the heat of the moment: keep your hands off Page 3. It was too personal.” Ms. Brooks took a different line in court. “This was one where, again, the reaction of the paper — I’m the editor, my responsibility — was cruel and harsh,” she told the jury. “We did it in the heat of the moment: Keep your hands off Page 3. It was too personal.”
That incident was one of several decisions Ms. Brooks made —over 12 years as deputy editor or editor of the two tabloids — that she called mistakes in court. Others included a headline she approved about Frank Bruno, a boxer who developed mental health problems: “Bonkers Bruno Locked Up.” That incident was one of several decisions Ms. Brooks made, over 12 years as deputy editor or editor of the two tabloids, that she called mistakes in court. Others included a headline she approved about Frank Bruno, a boxer who developed mental health problems: “Bonkers Bruno Locked Up.”
“The speed of decisions at The Sun often cause lapses of judgment,” Ms. Brooks said. “I personally made lots of mistakes.”“The speed of decisions at The Sun often cause lapses of judgment,” Ms. Brooks said. “I personally made lots of mistakes.”
Sometimes, she said, the mistake was in not acting aggressively enough. When a source demanded £10,000 (about $15,000) for exclusive information about British lawmakers abusing their expense accounts, Ms. Brooks said she prevaricated for too long, and the offer was snatched up by a competitor, The Daily Telegraph. The scandal became major news in 2009 and led to several high-profile resignations. Sometimes, she said, the mistake was in not acting aggressively enough. When a source demanded “quite a lot of money” for a disc containing exclusive information about British lawmakers abusing their expense accounts, Ms. Brooks said she hesitated, and the offer was snatched up by a competitor, The Daily Telegraph. The Telegraph’s report touched off a major scandal in 2009 that led to several high-profile resignations of politicians. “In terms of errors of judgment, it was quite high on my list,” Ms. Brooks told the court. “It was quite embarrassing that we didn’t do it.”
“In terms of errors of judgment, it was quite high on my list,” Ms. Brooks told the court. “It was quite embarrassing that we didn’t do it.” Mostly, though, her tabloids paid — in at least one case, as much as 150,000 pounds, or about $240,000, for a single article — the court heard. In 1995, The News of the World tracked down the prostitute Divine Brown, who was arrested with the actor Hugh Grant in Los Angeles, and offered her £100,000, or about $160,000, for an exclusive. It then paid about £50,000 more to fly her extended family to Nevada and put them up in a desert resort to keep other journalists from finding them. When a rival reporter came too close, the whole clan was moved a second time. “Hugh Told Me I Was His Sex Fantasy,” the resulting headline read.
Mostly, though, her tabloids paid – in at least one case, as much as £150,000 ($240,000) for a single story, the court heard. In 1995, The News of The World tracked down the prostitute Divine Brown, who was arrested with the actor Hugh Grant in Los Angeles, and offered her £100,000 for an exclusive. It then paid some £50,000 more to fly her extended family to Nevada and put them up in a desert resort to keep other journalists from finding them. When a rival reporter came too close, the whole clan was moved a second time. “Hugh Told Me I Was His Sex Fantasy,” the resulting headline read. The Murdoch-owned tabloids competed fiercely, even with one another, the jury heard. The Sun had the glass wall of its newsroom frosted to block the view of News of the World reporters and editors headed for the company cafeteria.
The Murdoch-owned tabloids competed fiercely, even with one another, the jury heard. The Sun had the glass wall of its newsroom frosted to block the view of News of the World reporters and editors headed for the company cafeteria. And Ms. Brooks testified that when, as a young feature writer, she found her office phone cut off after she landed a big exclusive, she suspected sabotage by jealous colleagues on the paper. Under cross-examination on Wednesday, she was asked by the prosecutor, Andrew Edis, whether as editor of either tabloid she had ever actually given her journalists the “specific instruction, ‘Do not hack phones.’ ”
Under cross-examination on Wednesday, she was asked by the prosecutor, Andrew Edis, whether as editor of either tabloid she had ever actually given her journalists the “specific instruction, ‘Do not hack phones’.”
“No, that phrase I did not use,” Ms. Brooks replied.“No, that phrase I did not use,” Ms. Brooks replied.
Soon after she became editor of The News of The World in 2000, Ms. Brooks began a name-and-shame campaign publishing photographs and identities of sex offenders. The campaign cost the paper some £2 million, she testified, with much of the money spent trying to track down registered pedophiles. The campaign prompted a series of vigilante assaults, some of them on innocent people who happened to resemble subjects of the newspaper’s campaign; in one case, the home of a pediatrician was attacked by vigilantes who got their spelling wrong. Soon after she became editor of The News of the World in 2000, Ms. Brooks began a name-and-shame campaign publishing photographs and identities of sex offenders. The campaign cost the paper about £2 million, she testified, with much of the money spent trying to track down registered pedophiles. The campaign prompted a series of vigilante assaults, some of them on innocent people who resemble subjects of the newspaper’s campaign. In one case, the home of a pediatrician was attacked by vigilantes who got their spelling wrong.
Some stories came more cheaply. One private investigator, by the name of “Benji the Binman,” would rifle through the trash cans outside lawyers’ offices for scraps that could make a story. Journalists used hidden tape recorders to trip up members of the royal family, and occasionally donned intricate disguises to go undercover, the court heard. Some articles came more cheaply. One private investigator, nicknamed Benji the Binman, would rifle through the trash cans outside lawyers’ offices for scraps that could make an article. Journalists used hidden tape recorders to trip up members of the royal family, and occasionally donned intricate disguises to go undercover, the court heard.
Ms. Brooks’s close ties with Britain’s political establishment have also been detailed at the trial. On Tuesday, the court heard that the day after news broke that the voice mail account of a kidnapped teenager had been hacked by The News of The World, Ms. Brooks received several supportive text messages, including one from the former prime minister Tony Blair. Ms. Brooks’s close ties with Britain’s political establishment have also been detailed at the trial. On Tuesday, the court heard that the day after news broke that the voice mail account of a kidnapped teenager had been hacked by The News of the World, Ms. Brooks received several supportive text messages, including one from the former Prime Minister Tony Blair.
“Let me know if there is anything I can do to help,” Mr. Blair texted on July 5, 2011. “Thinking of you.”“Let me know if there is anything I can do to help,” Mr. Blair texted on July 5, 2011. “Thinking of you.”
Asked if there was any truth in the allegation that she had asked her personal assistant and co-defendant, Cheryl Carter, to lie about Ms. Brooks’s whereabouts on July 8, 2011, Ms. Brooks called the suggestion “ridiculous.” At one point during Ms. Brooks’s testimony, her lawyer turned to the allegation that she conspired to hide evidence from the police two days before The News of the World was closed down. Asked if she had ordered her personal assistant and co-defendant, Cheryl Carter, to lie about Ms. Brooks’s whereabouts on July 8, 2011, Ms. Brooks called the suggestion ridiculous.
“On 8 July I was in front of News of the World staff,” she said. “True to News of the World style, they had brought hidden cameras and listening devices – it went live on Sky News,” she said. “I could hardly complain.” “On 8 July I was in front of News of the World staff,” she said. “True to News of the World style, they had brought hidden cameras and listening devices — it went live on Sky News,” she said. “I could hardly complain.”