Rebekah Brooks, the former News International chief executive, appeared in court for the first time today in London to face charges linked to the phone hacking scandal.
Ms Brooks had her case transferred to a higher criminal court at Westminster Magistrates’ Court this morning. The next hearing in the case will be at Southwark Crown Court on June 22nd, a magistrate court judge said. Ms Brooks is on bail and must inform police of any foreign travel.
The 44-year-old ex-News of the World and Sun editor faces three charges of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice, including that she removed boxes of material from the News International archive and tried to conceal documents, computers and other material from the multimillion-pound Scotland Yard inquiry.
The charges, made last month, were the first to be brought by the investigation into phone-hacking, computer hacking and corruption.
Ms Brooks' racehorse trainer husband Charlie faces a single charge of conspiring to pervert the course of justice with his wife. Cheryl Carter, Mrs Brooks’ personal assistant; Mark Hanna, head of security at News International; Paul Edwards, Mrs Brooks’ chauffeur; and security consultant Daryl Jorsling also each face a single charge of conspiring to pervert the course of justice.
Ms Brooks became editor of the News of the World in 2000 at the age of 31. In 2003 she became the first woman to edit the Sun and in 2009 became News International chief executive. She resigned from that post in July last year.
PA