Rebekah Brooks denies phone hacking evidence is 'carefully prepared script'

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/mar/12/rebekah-brooks-phone-hacking-evidence-script

Version 0 of 1.

Rebekah Brooks on Wednesday rejected a claim that her 13 days of evidence in the witness box at the phone-hacking trial have been "a carefully prepared and presented script that bears little relation to the truth".

The claim came on a day when the court heard how Brooks received a stream of supportive text messages from Tony Blair in final week as chief executive of News International in July 2011 while she contemplated seeking further advice from Peter Mandelson.

Ending his cross-examination of Brooks on Wednesday, Andrew Edis QC suggested that her 20-year career at News International had been a "meteoric rise in … a really tough world" during which she had tried to get the best stories. "And you didn't much care how you got them."

"That's absolutely not true," she replied.

"Getting them was what mattered to you. Is that fair or not?"

"It's not fair."

He challenged her over the detail of the three offences with which she is charged.

On phone-hacking, Brooks said two of her executives at the News of the World – Greg Miskiw and Neville Thurlbeck – had never told her of the existence of the paper's specialist phone-hacker, Glenn Mulcaire. And that her managing editor, Stuart Kuttner, had never told her of the paper's annual contract with Mulcaire.

On the charge that as editor of the Sun she approved payments to a source at the Ministry of Defence, she said the journalist who asked for the money had never told her the source was a public official. She agreed that he should have told her.

On two charges that as chief executive of News International in July 2011 she conspired to hide or destroy evidence, she said she had not known that her PA, Cheryl Carter, had removed from the company archive seven boxes that, the Crown claim, contained 12 years of her notebooks; and that she had not known that her husband, Charlie Brooks, had given some of his belongings to security staff before police searched their homes. "You were completely unaware of everything?" asked Edis.

"Yes" she said.

"I'm going to suggest to you that that is quite untrue. You were running your world – and not much happened in it that you didn't want to happen. Is that right? You were the boss?"

"I was the CEO."

"And before that you were the editor."

"Yes."

"You were very much aware of what these people were doing?"

"Which people?"

"Kuttner. Thurlbeck, Miskiw. Cheryl Carter. The journalist from the Sun. Even your husband. All these people."

"That's not true."

"In fact, Mrs Brooks, your evidence, I'm going to suggest to you, has been a carefully prepared and presented script that bears little relation to the truth about these offences."

"It has not," she said.

Earlier, the court heard that as the hacking scandal came to a head in July 2011, Brooks exchanged a sequence of texts with Tony Blair. On the evening of Sunday 10 July, with the final edition of the News of the World on sale, Blair flew into Washington DC and texted her: "Hi it's Tony. I've just landed. Is it too late to speak or should we stick with tomorrow?" She replied that they should speak the next day, then added a second message: "Can't wait xx."

The jury has heard that on the following day, Monday 11 July, she spent an hour on the phone with Blair, after which she emailed James Murdoch to report that Blair was suggesting that they should set up a "Hutton-style inquiry" and was offering to advise them generally on a "between us" basis.

During the rest of the week, the court heard yesterday, Blair texted again on the Tuesday: "I'm in the Mid East. Call me when you can. Tx." Again on the Friday, when Brooks announced that she was resigning from News International: "I'm really sorry about it all. Call me if you need to. Tx." And again on the Saturday, as she prepared to give evidence the following week to the House of Commons media select committee: "If you're still going to Parliament, you should call me. I have experience of these things! Tx." She replied five minutes later "Definitely."

The court has heard that by Saturday, Brooks knew that she was to be interviewed by police the following day. She continued the text exchange, telling Blair: "Feeling properly terrified! Police are behaving so badly." He replied: "Everyone panics in these situations and they will feel they have their reputation to recover." Then he added: "I'm no use on police stuff but call me after that because I may be some help on Commons."

"Great," she replied. "Will do."

The court heard that in preparation for their appearance before the select committee, Rupert Murdoch, James Murdoch and Brooks planned to have a full rehearsal and that Brooks had wanted to ask Lord Mandelson to help with "mock sessions". In the event, however, her arrest and questioning by police had prevented that happening.

Rebekah Brooks denies conspiring to intercept communications, commit misconduct in public office and pervert the course of justice. The trial continues.