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| Rebekah Brooks: I feel vindicated by phone-hacking verdicts | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Ex-News of the World editor Rebekah Brooks has said she feels "vindicated" after being cleared of all charges in the phone-hacking trial. | Ex-News of the World editor Rebekah Brooks has said she feels "vindicated" after being cleared of all charges in the phone-hacking trial. |
| Speaking for the first time since the verdict, Mrs Brooks, who was found not guilty on four counts, said it had been "tough" for all affected by the case. | |
| Appearing with her husband, Mrs Brooks said the police inquiry and trial had put their "troubles in perspective". | Appearing with her husband, Mrs Brooks said the police inquiry and trial had put their "troubles in perspective". |
| Royals, celebrities and crime victims were among those who had phones hacked. | Royals, celebrities and crime victims were among those who had phones hacked. |
| Cleared | Cleared |
| Speaking to a crowd of reporters outside her London home, Mrs Brooks said: "I am innocent of the crimes that I was charged with and I feel vindicated by the unanimous verdicts." | |
| She continued: "We have a happy and healthy daughter. We have our brave and resolute mums who have been at court most of the time and we have had strong and unwavering support from all friends, our family and from our legal teams that have believed in us from the beginning. | She continued: "We have a happy and healthy daughter. We have our brave and resolute mums who have been at court most of the time and we have had strong and unwavering support from all friends, our family and from our legal teams that have believed in us from the beginning. |
| "When I was arrested, it was in the middle of a maelstrom of controversy, of politics and of comment. Some of that was fair but much of it was not so I am very grateful to the jury for coming to their decision." | "When I was arrested, it was in the middle of a maelstrom of controversy, of politics and of comment. Some of that was fair but much of it was not so I am very grateful to the jury for coming to their decision." |
| At the scene | At the scene |
| Robin Brant, BBC political correspondent | |
| Her legs were shaking, her voice timid as she spoke to cameras assembled - for the first time in eight months - not outside the court. | Her legs were shaking, her voice timid as she spoke to cameras assembled - for the first time in eight months - not outside the court. |
| "I am innocent," Rebekah Brooks said as she thanked her family and her lawyers. | "I am innocent," Rebekah Brooks said as she thanked her family and her lawyers. |
| Shouted questions about her failure to detect the criminality at the News of the World and her thoughts on Andy Coulson were ignored. | Shouted questions about her failure to detect the criminality at the News of the World and her thoughts on Andy Coulson were ignored. |
| As the scrum around the pair moved to their waiting car, her husband Charlie told the BBC he was "sad" for Coulson. | As the scrum around the pair moved to their waiting car, her husband Charlie told the BBC he was "sad" for Coulson. |
| The only defendant found guilty of phone hacking in the mammoth trial, he faces the prospect of sentencing next week and almost certainly prison. | The only defendant found guilty of phone hacking in the mammoth trial, he faces the prospect of sentencing next week and almost certainly prison. |
| The Brookses left in a car with their clothes and bags already packed up for them, probably heading home to Oxfordshire. | The Brookses left in a car with their clothes and bags already packed up for them, probably heading home to Oxfordshire. |
| Mrs Brooks said it had been a "time of reflection" for her and she had "learned some valuable lessons and hopefully I am the wiser for it". | Mrs Brooks said it had been a "time of reflection" for her and she had "learned some valuable lessons and hopefully I am the wiser for it". |
| "I am incredibly proud of the many journalists I have worked with throughout my career and the great campaigns that we have fought and won," she went on. | |
| "All I can say to you all is that today my thoughts are with my former colleagues and their families who face future trials. I am going to do everything I can to support them as I know how anxious the times ahead are." | "All I can say to you all is that today my thoughts are with my former colleagues and their families who face future trials. I am going to do everything I can to support them as I know how anxious the times ahead are." |
| Speaking ahead of Mrs Brooks, her husband Charlie Brooks said: "Rebekah has been through an unprecedented investigation of an incredibly forensic and personal nature, the likes of which we have probably never seen. | |
| "And I would just like to say how proud I am of Rebekah and the dignity she has shown." | |
| 'Good result' | |
| On Tuesday at London's Old Bailey, Mrs Brooks was found not guilty of conspiracy to hack voicemails, two counts of conspiracy to pay public officials and two counts of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice. | On Tuesday at London's Old Bailey, Mrs Brooks was found not guilty of conspiracy to hack voicemails, two counts of conspiracy to pay public officials and two counts of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice. |
| Mr Brooks, Mrs Brooks' former personal assistant Cheryl Carter, and News International's former head of security Mark Hanna were also cleared of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice. | |
| News of the World was closed by its parent company, News International, in July 2011 after it emerged it had instructed a private investigator to intercept voicemails left on the mobile phone of murdered Surrey teenager Milly Dowler in 2002. | News of the World was closed by its parent company, News International, in July 2011 after it emerged it had instructed a private investigator to intercept voicemails left on the mobile phone of murdered Surrey teenager Milly Dowler in 2002. |
| Mrs Brooks' successor as editor of the News of the World, Andy Coulson, was found guilty of a charge of conspiracy to intercept voicemails. | Mrs Brooks' successor as editor of the News of the World, Andy Coulson, was found guilty of a charge of conspiracy to intercept voicemails. |
| Meanwhile, former Metropolitan Police commissioner Lord Blair has defended the phone-hacking trial, saying it was a "good result for the public". | Meanwhile, former Metropolitan Police commissioner Lord Blair has defended the phone-hacking trial, saying it was a "good result for the public". |
| Lord Blair said the investigation showed the "absolute toxicity of the News of the World newsroom". | Lord Blair said the investigation showed the "absolute toxicity of the News of the World newsroom". |
| He also described allegations the Met Police's witness protection scheme had been targeted by phone-hacking as "extraordinary". | He also described allegations the Met Police's witness protection scheme had been targeted by phone-hacking as "extraordinary". |