Two bits of evidence from my two fellow reporters on a rather stop start day involved in detail of police searches of Rebekah Brooks: the first in July 2011 the weekend she resigned as CEO of News International and was arrested on suspicion of phone hacking: the second in March 2012 when the police pursued allegations of perversion of the course of justice. (Brooks denies all the charges and the trial continues)
In previous evidence we’ve heard 17 electronic devices allegedly belonging to Brooks have been recovered. As Martin Hickman reports of the testimony of DC Alan Pritchard.
On the issue of Mrs Brooks’s computers, he told the Old Bailey that analysis of the “user activity” on the machines indicated that “she wasn’t using them at the time.”
Detective Inspector Steven McCabe, investigating officer in the inquiry into the alleged hiding of evidence, denied that the 5am raid in 2012 had been staged to humiliate the Brooks’s.
via Police claim computers seized not used by Brooks, trial hears | Hacked Off.
Meanwhile James Doleman covered the statement by Steve Cox, a private counter and anti surveillance contractor employed by ICP, another private security contractor regularly hired by Mark Hanna, director of security at News International. Cox explained how other vehicles monitoring Brooks were detected on the weekend of her arrest. As you can see in my tweets from the day, Corunna ran a team which included at least three cars, and four or five operatives at any one time that weekend. With Brooks’ backup driver, and two NI security staff, they seem to match the numbers of police involved in the search
A statement was then read to the court from a Tony Cox, a director of specialised security and counter-surveillance company Corruna Solutions which was sub-contracted by Mark Hanna to work for News International. On 17 July 2011, the day Rebekah Brooks was first arrested, Cox escorted her back from the police station and then \”probed the area\”. He observed two vehicles he believed were acting suspiciously and noted their registration numbers, which he passed on to his line manager.
via Phone-hacking trial: Archives, lists and suspicious cars | The Drum.
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