Tuesday 4 March 2014
Summary | ||
Rebekah Brooks Defence continues | ||
Brooks questioned by her Counsel Jonathan Laidlaw QC | ||
Rebekah Brooks Cross Examined by other Defence Counsel | ||
Brooks questioned by Jonathan Caplan QC QC – Counsel for Stuart Kuttner | ||
Brooks questioned by David Spens QC – Counsel for Clive Goodman |
Rebekah Brooks Defence continues | ||
Brooks questioned by her Counsel Jonathan Laidlaw QC | ||
Back at the #hackingtrial. Brief bit of legal argument before Brooks continues in witness box, questioned by her counsel Jonathan Laidlaw QC | ||
We’ve arrived 04/07/11 – the day the Milly Dowler story broke. The jury shown the online report by Nick Davies. | ||
Brooks saw it in the late afternoon: “I was out of the office… At the fertility clinic,” says Brooks of breaking story | ||
Brooks’ Blackberry texts adduced from morning of 4th: she texts her cousin and her mother Deborah at 6 a.m. | ||
Brooks spent the morning at TMS “a lot going on in the office” after handing over Harbottle and Lewis files | ||
Brooks sends texts to her cousin and mother about meeting at fertility clinic on 04/07/11 | ||
Brooks emails Cheryl Carter that morning about clinic visit at 3.30pm the day the Dowler story broke. | ||
Brooks emails her fertility doctor that morning: they had met socially that weekend with Ross, Charlie and Brooks at same event. | ||
Greenberg emails Brooks at 4.38 pm on 04/07/11: the Guardian have just emailed Greenberg for a comment. | ||
Brook says she saw the Dowler story on her Blackberry: read full story back in office. | ||
“First of all I didn’t believe it,” says Brooks of the Milly Dowler story. | ||
“The original story said NOTW had accessed Milly Dowler‘s phone, deleted voice mail messages…. it was pretty horrific,” says Brooks | ||
“Simon and Will asked me if it was true,” says Brooks. “At this stage we didn’t know about police officer in Weeting leaking to Guardian” | ||
“The police had been in building… they’d given us no visibility this was there,” says Brooks of Dowler story. | ||
“There was certainly an element of us trying to find out from police whether this was correct,’ says Brooks of Dowler breaking story. | ||
NI statement for the 6pm news is re-read in court” “we’ll be conducting our own inquiries and be fully co-operating with police” | ||
“A growing band of lawyers…. was trying to get information from the police as to the veracity of this thing,” says Brooks of 04/07/11 | ||
“It was almost like a holding statement till we found out what had gone on,” says Brooks of NI statement | ||
An email to Brooks talks of Tom Watson’s statement in Parliament about Milly Dowler. | ||
Mark Lewis is quoted on Sky News “ridiculous, obscene… family aware of allegations while trial was ongoing” | ||
“We couldn’t understand how Labour MPs had got the story that quickly” says Brooks “We were still scrabbling around try to find out about it | ||
“It was all coming in at once, and we were still ringing the police asking whether it is true or not,” says Brooks. | ||
The email adduced is from an MP to Charlie Brooks, seen before in evidence. Charlie forwards to Will Lewis about Dowler and Friends DVDs | ||
Will Lewis replies that it’s “another attempted hit” by Tom Watson MP | ||
Brooks: “We were there in NI with the police in the building regularly coming in for meetings, and we’re the only people who don’t know” | ||
“We were constantly dealing with revelation through another media unit rather than the police telling us what they had,” says Brooks. | ||
Brooks texts Sue Carroll, a close friend at the time, who was ill with cancer according to texts adduced by Laidlaw | ||
“Gosh you’re so lovely to worry about me. Not sure if it’s true” Brooks texts; “It is the deletion of messages and False hope sparking fury” | ||
“I know it took (police) months to confirm deletion wasn’t true, and the false hope situation,” says Brooks. | ||
“We’re only dealing with what’s in the story…” says Brooks: “The blame is being unfairly put on NOTW deleting the voicemail” | ||
Texts between Brooks and Piers Morgan cited around 7.30 that night and extends to next day | ||
Morgan: “When it rains it pours…” Brooks: “Must have been Mulcaire Morgan: “You’ve got to get out of there fast. Fury building on internet | ||
“Piers was telling me… he’s an avid… I was going to say twit… a tweeter,” says Brooks, jokingly | ||
“It wasn’t a staffer. You’ve got to get out there fast” texted Morgan. | ||
“You’ve got to get it out fast” Morgan text corrected. Brooks explains it means get it out as a statement. | ||
“We’re taking the usual News Corp tin hat approach…” says Brooks. “You’re trending worldwide on twitter. Congrats.” texts Morgan | ||
Tom Newton Dunn emails “incredibly objective reporting by our commercial rivals tonight” about Milly Dowler story. | ||
Brooks explains that the BSkyB bid was subject to a competition ruling that Monday: “Tom Newton Dunn had read and watched everything” | ||
“Not fit to have this deal,” Brooks says. “Don’t let the bastards get you down, Boss” writes Newton Dunn 10pm | ||
“Batten down the hatches. Looks like they’re going to throw the kitchen sink at you,” says Newton Dunn about stopping the BSkyB bid | ||
05/07/11 Brooks letter to Surrey Chief Constable cited, copied to Superintendent Ponting. | ||
“I was astonished and shocked by these allegations which I’d not previously heard,” writes Brooks to Surrey Chief | ||
Brooks says she’s writteb to Mark Lewis, who was looking after Dowler’s civil claim. Wants more info from Surrey police. | ||
“The trial of Levi Bellfield had only concluded in the March or April 2011, it was a very live issue,” says Brooks of Milly Dowler. | ||
Brooks writes to James Harding, editor of Times, about crime correspondent, “Can you find out from Sean how he knows pages 1 and 3 are true” | ||
“We have zero visibility of the veracity of these allegation… this is proper old Labour, Guardian, BBC hit.” wrote Brooks on 05/07/11 | ||
Brooks email to Harding talks about Tom Watson’s tweet “before” the Dowler story broke: “Parliament seemed to be read to talk about story” | ||
05/07/11 Brooks draft statement, sent to Charlie, shown to jury | ||
“I didn’t sleep that night,” says Brooks of evening after Dowler story broke. | ||
Three levels to this statement, Brooks explains: NI side, James Murdoch’s News Corp Europe side, and Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp side | ||
That morning around noon a draft letter is passed between Brooks, Greenberg and Lewis, to be sent to the Dowler family | ||
05/07/11 Sun journalist writes to Brooks “It is totally and utterly impossible for you to have awareness of this at NOTW” | ||
“You’ve absolutely done nothing wrong. This is totally alien to your soul,” writes journalist to Brooks day after Milly Dowler story broke | ||
05/07/11 Deborah Keegan emails around 5pm that evening: Hanna talking to Greenberg about personal security and Brooks team available | ||
Brooks “I was getting quite a large influx, from the outside, rightly, from minor criticism to all out death threats. We had a bomb threat” | ||
“I was the central figure for that.” says Brooks at “universal revulsion” at Dowler allegation. | ||
Hanna emails Brooks about security “if we see media round the area… I’ll let you know” “Media concern and police concern” both mentioned | ||
“In April,” Brooks explains: “there was a high level of concern I would be arrested and a dawn raid on the house” | ||
“Because every arrest, and all details of investigation, were being leaked,” says Brooks: “If police came to arrest me I’d be photographed.” | ||
Hanna is “talking about going back to the plan of April” says Brooks of this email and threats of arrest and media coverage | ||
BREAKING: Blair emails Brooks “Let me know if there’s anything I can help you with. Thinking of you” Brooks “GB pals getting their own back” | ||
That breaking email send by Blair day after Milly Dowler story broke | ||
“Please don’t watch the news, mum, and be careful of strangers at the door or calls,” Brooks writes to her mother on 05/07/11 | ||
Another message from Brooks’ mother cited in court: not read out. | ||
“Because I was the focus of everything, it was quite hard for her,” says Brooks of her mother coming down to Jubilee Barn that weekend. | ||
Laidlaw illustrates “another issue”: Brooks writing to a woman called Rowena at Farrers: “one of the many legal firms,” says Brooks | ||
“Cheryl Carter needs urgent legal advice about a business venture” says Brooks email to lawyer about a brand IP issue that week. | ||
Brooks talks about Carter’s beauty brand “she had discovered… someone she had trusted let her down and tried to take it away from her” | ||
Michael Gove texts Brooks 06/07/11 about a News International event: “Very keen to catch up… Don’t think Sarah and I can come to night” | ||
“NI had hired a corporate box, and someone had to host it every night…. hospitality,” says Brooks of Gove text. “I was trying to cancel” | ||
“Other people are coming to same conclusion during the firestorm” says Brooks of Gove’s cancellation. I | ||
“Michael and I have been trying to found an Academy School in East London… Because of Milly Dowler story advertisers pulling out” | ||
Newton Dunn writes to Brooks about the prime minister; “DC announcing one or several inquiries” | ||
Texts between Kath Hinton, Blunkett SpAd and Brooks now adduced in court. | ||
K Hinton writes “definitely some of this misogynist” Brooks: “Bloody intense… feeling like a sexist witchhunt at times.” | ||
“I did think it was a bit sexist,” says Brooks: “But you couldn’t forget how horrible the allegation was, if true” | ||
Gideon Wyn Davies writes to Brooks with “Good News”: credit card statements show you away during key periods of 2002 | ||
Various exotic locations named. Wynn Davies “I was quite jealous” Brooks replied “Wow. Those were the days” | ||
Brooks explains that Gideon Wynn Davies – who sent good news message – was working with Joel Klein investigating for News Corp | ||
Brooks explains that 2002 diary just said holiday: “Cheryl couldn’t remember… Ross couldn’t remember” | ||
“In my own mind, back in April” says Brooks about the first thought of resignation: “if the police are going to arrest to CEO it’s over” | ||
Brooks “It had been there as a possibility in my head since April…. it did happen during my editorship..one should probably resign anyway” | ||
Brooks says she discussed her resignation first with Lewis and Greenberg, then with James and Rupert Murdoch. | ||
“I was with James Murdoch and his team on the Monday evening, the 4th… I thought it was an inevitability of me leaving, Not their view” | ||
“R Murdoch was away at a conference in Sun Valley. He was concerned I shouldn’t resign until I got there,” says Broosk. He arrives 10/07/11 | ||
07/07/11 The announcement of the closure of NOTW. Staff sent email by James Murdoch – last edition on 10/07/11 | ||
Brooks confirms that closure of NOTW had been a topic since “early June” | ||
“Too toxic… and could save the bid for Sky,” reminds Justice Saunders of Greenberg plan for closure of NOTW in June 2011. | ||
“It had been mooted before, but decided against,” says Brooks of NOTW closure. By the 6th they had confirmed Mulcaire hack of Dowler | ||
“Problem we had was that Rupert was in a different time zone,” says Brooks. “I remember discussions about how to get everyone on conf call” | ||
08/07/11 Plan B email cited. Brooks explains Plan A: “ANews Corp were brought in.. we reported to Joel Klein” | ||
“Anyone connected with Harbottle and Lewis files should leave the company. That was the corporate view,” says Brooks of June 2011 | ||
Plan A was Brooks resigning and leaving the company “probably the right thing to do, should have done it, didn’t do it, asked not to do it” | ||
“I was still waiting to Rupert Murdoch to arrive on the Sunday,” says Brooks of her indecision around resignation on 08/07/11 | ||
7.15 am on 08/07/11 Brooks writes to James Murdoch suggesting an investigation that will “slam Les and Colin” and “vindicate” her | ||
“Even things we didn’t want leak were getting leaked,” Brooks explains of how info from this internal report could publicised. | ||
“We will not be on trial by the media,” says Brooks email. Will Lewis replaces Brooks on Times Board. “I am ring fenced” | ||
21.09 text from Morgan corrected by Laidlaw: “if it wasn’t a staffer. You’ve got to get THAT out there fast” | ||
15 minute break | ||
Back after the break at the #hackingtrial | ||
Laidlaw turns to the relationship between Brooks and Carter: she’d worked with Carter for 16 years from Deputy Editor of NOTW 95-96 | ||
“She’s amazing, a friend, brilliant PA… we were a great combination. Cheryl ran my life. I trusted her” says Brooks of Carter | ||
“She was incredibly open friendly open-book kind of person,” says Brooks says of Carter. “I’m probably the opposite” | ||
Brooks: “In a newsroom it’s chaotic, you don’t have time to speak. Cheryl got things done… She’d speak to my mum. Never missed a birthday” | ||
Brooks confirms that though her PAs organised meetings, they didn’t attend them | ||
Brooks talks about Carter’s beauty column: “she was a working mum, looked after the family incredibly well, wanted to broaden horizons” | ||
Brooks says Carter went to night college to learn beauty products when Brooks was editor of NOTW. | ||
Laidlaw asks Brooks to ‘frank’ about Carter’s weakness: “she could be a bit scatty and forgetful… and had to put instructions in writing” | ||
“I once said to Cheryl I had to go out of the office for an important meeting, and if Mr Murdoch called she was to tell him I went to MI5” | ||
“In the old days you had to take your phone with you and put it in metal box” says Brooks of MI5: “I was worried he’d be angry” | ||
Brooks says Carter said Rupert Murdoch was furious because she’d told him Brooks had gone to MFI – a bargain furniture store. | ||
Brooks says she wouldn’t have conscripted Carter in cover up: “she wouldn’t do it not just because she’s scatty but because she’s true” | ||
Brooks is asked about her use of notebooks starting in 1995/6 when Carter arrived. “I stopped being a reporter quite early on” in 1994 | ||
Brooks says that “if I interviewed a senior politician… I’d take a political or defence editor and they’d take the notes” | ||
Brooks explains her note taking during news conference, and an artist pad she used for laying out the paper. | ||
“There was always another paper to put out,” says Brooks of these disposable pad and notebooks she used as editor. | ||
Brooks says she used word docs for budgets and proposals. | ||
Brooks is asked by Laidlaw about her knowledge and use of archive for the “20 or so years you worked at News International” | ||
Brooks says she didn’t distinguish between storage and archive: “anything that was bulky” went to the archive she tells the jury. | ||
“We moved a lot, and I have moved home a lot,” says Brooks: “So we were constantly looking for places to store bulky material” | ||
Brooks says “I never used the archive… my assumption… the archive was not somewhere where my personal sensitive would be stored” | ||
“There was everything in there” says Brooks of the storage around the PAs desk. “That was the filing system, not to be stored somewhere else | ||
“I had none,” says Brooks of various moves and archiving. She talks of a “problematic” move in 2009 to CEO role. | ||
“Rupert Murdoch offered to have his office cut in half… He didn’t have a big office anyway…. I left it to Cheryl and Debs to make move” | ||
“I had some involvement, but not in actually minutiae,” says Brooks of move. She says she had no knowledge of 7 boxes and storage. | ||
Brooks says she had no discussion with Carter on 08/07/11 on withdrawal of notebooks from archive. | ||
“In typical NOTW fashion the meeting was filled with secret cameras” says Brooks of townhall on 08/07/11 and meeting going on line | ||
“Please do not worry about Y” Brooks writes to Witherow, Harding and Mohan on 08/07/11 and then talks about taking staff one | ||
Mum texts Brooks “You were right I shouldn’t watch the news” on 08/07/11 planning to visit Brooks on the Saturday. | ||
Brooks says there’s no truth in allegations that she asked Carter to lie about her movements: “On 8th I was in front of entire NOTW staff” | ||
Brooks on 08/07/11 emails other editors trying to get jobs for NOTW at other titles. She emails Myler on same topic. | ||
Brooks writes to head of business and head of marketing about keeping NOTW sports staff: “because the Sun was so strong in sport” | ||
Ruth Gledhill at the Times emails Brooks “praying you will stay. Brooks replies “NOTW staff the priority for me…. trying to find them jobs | ||
Brooks emails HR and Jane Viner over organising the ‘Town Hall’ meeting at 5pm for NOTW on 08/07/11 | ||
“A lot of anger at NOTW,” explains Brooks: “They had nothing to do with hacking… couldn’t understand why I was still in the job either. “ | ||
Brooks emails Greenberg about NOTW: “everyone is appalled the acts of a few affected so many talented journalists” | ||
Brooks’ message to NOTW staff is read out by Laidlaw | ||
Brooks addresses the media coverage of her in 08/07/11 “I think I became the focal point of everything, rightly so, as Chief Executive” | ||
I’m not investigating myself, says statement from Brooks announcing Town Hall 2011: references MSC and planned public inquiries. | ||
Just before 2pm Brooks’ mother writes to her worried about her security” “I have more security than the prime minister,” replies Brooks | ||
Brooks receives an email around 6.26 from NOTW staffer after a Town Hall meeting Brooks describes as “incredibly heated… a lot of anger” | ||
Friday night on 08/07/11 Cheryl writes to Brooks about her mother in law’s 80th birthday and a master butcher. | ||
Brooks says she stayed late that Friday: “I knew I was seeing Rupert Murdoch on the Sunday…” went back to Oxfordshire than night. | ||
Brooks says she was back in London the next Saturday 09/07/11 “not first thing… maybe towards lunchtime” | ||
Another email exchange that Saturday about a football only paper for the iPad “if it saves jobs” Brooks: “try to keep fighting” | ||
09/07/11 the day the last edition of NOTW prepared: “I left before they finished… I didn’t think I would be welcome. I left them to it.” | ||
10pm Brooks writes to Myler: “Must have been the hardest day in your journalistic career by far… a very sad day for our newspaper history” | ||
Later than night Greenberg emails Brooks about Sunday Telegraph article about a possible arrest. Brooks asks if front page. | ||
Sunday Telegraph says arrest in few days. Greenberg says “not according to Barney (Radcliffe)…. (Mark) Ponting going away” | ||
“if we speak to Telegraph and get it changed,” replies Brooks to Greenberg article about her imminent arrest. | ||
Of last day of NOTW Brooks: “lots of other things going on in term of the Sky Bid…. fallout from the inquiries that had been announced” | ||
Brooks says she returned to Jubilee Barn that evening: her mum was waiting | ||
On Sunday 10/07/11 Brooks had a conference call with James Murdoch – “he didn’t live that far from me in Oxfordshire” | ||
“The plan was to have lunch with him and Matthew Anderson” Brooks says of James Murdoch about “the ongoing situation” | ||
A call came from Rupert Murdoch saying he’d landed. Brooks made her way to London to meet him | ||
Brooks says it took 25 minutes to get to James Murdoch’s house in Oxfordshire that Sunday: Charlie was driving. | ||
Brooks says Cheryl Carter went to Jubilee Barn on 10/07/11 but Brooks didn’t meet her: “I asked her to look after mum” | ||
“My mum was in a very anxious state that weekend,” says Brooks: “I couldn’t be with her. I had to be there for final day of NOTW” | ||
“I had to meet Rupert Murdoch in London, and do this conference call,” says Brooks. Cheryl came to Oxfordshire to look after her mum | ||
Brooks says it wasn’t unusual for Carter to stay with her mum “occasionally” and they’d talk on a daily basis. | ||
Brooks says there’s no question of her asking Cheryl to bring stuff to Oxfordshire. | ||
“Rupert Murdoch had landed earlier than I thought, and he was waiting for me,” says Brooks. She left at 4 to meet him around 6pm | ||
“It was written he was coming into London, media outside his London house,” says Brooks of publicity over the Murdoch meeting on 10/07/11 | ||
BREAKING Brooks says she didn’t resign the day of the last edition of NOTW because Rupert Murdoch asked her not to | ||
Brooks receives a text message from friend “Good luck with KRM”: discussions whether to launch Sun on Sunday immediately to save costs. | ||
11.30 pm text to Brooks from her mother: “Watched you both on TV… So proud. Showed you helping journalists up too” | ||
“On film a female journalist is knocked over and I helped her up,” says Brooks of media scrum around her meeting with Murdoch. | ||
Back after lunch in Court 12 of the Old Bailey with Brooks in the witness box: about to move onto Count 7 and the missing items. | ||
11/07/11 Brooks’ final week at News International. She stayed in London that Sunday. | ||
11/07/11 Email to Les Hinton: “Can you call me when you’re up. I had quite a conversation last night with the boss about my future” | ||
Other emails talk about hiring staff into other titles and a new newsroom to explore other options. | ||
3pm 11/07/11 Brooks’ mother writes to her about going back to Oxfordshire that day: “Don’t read the papers or watch TV” says Brooks | ||
4pm Monday: Brooks says she discussed “various options” with Murdoch. “Completely exhausted… not sleeping… James Murdoch sent me home” | ||
Brooks writes to James 15.46 about last NOTW sales figures: “What are you doing on email” says James. She was told to rest and get sleep | ||
11/07/11 email mentions Charlie “confiscation” – Brooks says this relates to confiscating her Blackberry | ||
Justice Saunders asks whether this call from Blair related to Plan B. Brooks says Blair’s proposal was more “robust… independent” | ||
“I took Les’ advice and took a sleeping pill,’ says email on the Tuesday morning. Brooks says she was told to stay at home. | ||
Later that 12/07/11 Brooks emails several people including Pannuccio: “need to crack on with 7 day Sun plans” KRM focused on Sky issue | ||
12/07/11 email at 12.09 Brooks writes to Will Lewis: coming in the next morning | ||
Brooks explains the “leave of absence”: Murdoch didn’t want her to resign the Sunday but “impossible to carry on position as CEO” | ||
“I was the focus point and lightning rod for all that was going on… and I was exhausted. Wasn’t even functioning properly” Brooks say | ||
Matthew Anderson emails the next morning at 7.47 about “redraft… key points. Leave of absence to leave police to do work” | ||
“I am telling boss,” says Brooks of Murdoch; “I can’t do leave of absence until after Select Committee.” | ||
“In the middle of all this,” says Brooks “I was summoned in front of Parliament… to which I agreed to go to.” | ||
“At first it was thought I could just go, and not Rupert and James,” says Brooks of DCMS committee meeting scheduled the next week. | ||
“The thinking was that I should face parliament and resign afterwards,” says Brooks of DCMS appearance (the following Tuesday 19th July) | ||
Wednesday email 10.25 am Brooks writes to various NI execs and Daniel Tench at Olswang – copied to Charlie Brooks and Carter | ||
“At this stage the plan was just for me to go to DCMS,” says Brooks: “They wanted to do a rehearsal…. we needed a venue… Enstone Manor” | ||
Brooks was planning to rehearse from Friday to Monday with “about 20 people” for the DCMS committee on the 19/07/11 | ||
Brooks is asked about Cheryl Carter at this point: “she was very upset,” she replied. “It was clear by now I would be going.” | ||
Brooks says: “The leave of absence changed to resignation. I was still organising my move from TMS to another office.” | ||
Brooks “At some point Will Lewis or Simon Greenberg said to me… police wanted to talk to me before I went in front of select committee” | ||
“I was given some options how to talk to the police” explains Brooks of advice from lawyers at Burton Copeland and Will Lewis | ||
14/07/11 Brooks says the decision to resign was made that day. Jane Viner sends email about arrangements in respect of the office. | ||
“There was a debate about what position I should be in when I faced parliament,” says Brooks. Some thought better in situ, some if resigned | ||
“The leave of absence turned into a resignation that afternoon.” says Brooks. Jury shown a draft of resignation statement and her thoughts | ||
“I have given James and Rupert Murdoch my resignation… this time it has been accepted.” shows draft resignation on 14/07/11 | ||
That evening Brooks emails Will Lewis who says “call Barney” | ||
“My view was the police should be told as soon as possible and not just see it as an announcement,’ says Brooks. | ||
15/07/11 Brooks’ resignation publicly announced. She was at work – had been there pretty late on the 14th “redrafting my message a lot” | ||
In the morning “I was talking to lawyer, corporate affairs and James and Rupert Murdoch. They’d been summoned to attend by compulsion” | ||
“In the end it was decided… better if they attended together, and I on my own as ex CEO,” says Brooks of DCMS hearing. | ||
Brooks then left to say goodbye to NI staff. She was with Witherow when call says “Will Lewis and James Murdoch want to see me urgently” | ||
Lewis and J Murdoch “were in my office waiting for me”. Lewis: “The situation has changed. Police want you out of the building immediately | ||
“If you don’t leave immediate they’re going to send the Pandas round” said Lewis. “You’ve got to be out of the building by mid-day” | ||
Brooks wanted to know what changed. Lewis and J Murdoch didn’t know but had to escort her out of the building. Blackberry disabled. | ||
“I left everything in the office,” says Brooks of the rest of her computers. | ||
Laidlaw talks about the computers sealed in Brooks’ office: contents later analysed. Documents dated 14/07/11 to 02/06/11 found on it. | ||
Computer access shows Brooks email account used throughout that week in July 2011 | ||
Brooks then left for the weekend at Enstone to prepare for DCMS. | ||
“I’d been given three options” she says of “talking to the police” that weekend. “Friday’s events had changed everything…” | ||
“By then we had agreed I would go to a police station at 12 o’clock,” says Brooks for that coming Sunday. | ||
“The lawyer who was acting for me… had been acting for company… at Burton Copeland, had continued to write to the police, from April” | ||
“By the Friday the legal team were discussing with the police to be interviewed at best as witness at worst under caution” says Brooks | ||
“Ian Burton from Burton Copeland… was going to come with me on the Sunday,” says Brooks. It didn’t happen after building getting sealed. | ||
Brooks was told “she was not allowed” to have Ian Burton as her lawyer “because the police had interviewed him under caution” | ||
After that Brooks had to have new lawyers. Met with Kingsley Napley on the Saturday 16/07/11 | ||
Brooks says she never left Enstone Manor that weekend, or returned to Jubilee Barn. | ||
“Very little” says Brooks of contact with Mark Hanna over this weekend. “I obviously saw Mr Hanna on Saturday at Enstone” | ||
Brooks said she told security detail “as little as possible” about her movements that Sunday. | ||
“I didn’t want anyone to know which police station” says Brooks about not telling security: “Very concerned about lasting image” | ||
“News also told me I couldn’t have any their people for the rehearsal,” explains Brooks. “I was allowed to have some MSC people” | ||
Brooks says the discussion about which police station carried on that Saturday: “in the end narrowed down to… Belgravia and Lewisham” | ||
“I chose Lewisham,’ says Brooks. “You were given an option?” ask Justice Saunders. | ||
“Because I’d only just met my lawyer, I planned to see my lawyers on the Sunday morning,” says Brooks; “maybe an hour with them?” | ||
Brooks said Paul Edwards drove her and Charlie down to London that Sunday. She knew about the “back up car” | ||
BREAKING: Brooks nothing was “got rid of” that weekend she was arrested. | ||
Brooks is asked about “Charlie’s Bags” and when “you first became aware of anything to do with that topic” | ||
Brooks says there had been no discussion with Charlie about his bags. | ||
BREAKING: Brooks says the first time she heard about Charlie’s Bags being missing was on the Monday after Kingsley Napley. | ||
Two lawyers accompanied Brook during her arrest at Lewisham 17/07/11 she was arrested as she got out of the car | ||
“It was on the cards,” Brooks says of her arrest. Spent most the rest of the day at the police station. | ||
“There were quite a few hours in the cell beforehand.” says Brooks of arrest: “I was there for twelve and half hours” | ||
Brooks is driven back to Thames Quay: Charlie “in a bit of state,’ says Brooks: “Slightly worse for wear” with red wine “2 sheets to wind” | ||
“He’d been waiting for 12 hours… he poured me a large glass of red wine,” says Brooks of Charlie. | ||
“I seem to remember him telling me a bit about the search,” says Brooks. “The police had gone through serial packets.” | ||
“He been watching the golf. One of the police officers told him to take his feet off the bed,” says Brooks of Charlie’s account | ||
One of the laptops confiscated then had the letter to Coulson on it. Teh Brooks’ went to bed late that night around 3 a.m. says Brooks | ||
Brooks says they weren’t at Kingsley Napley for long that Monday morning: “supposed to be rehearsing for Parliament.” But exhausted | ||
Brooks says she didn’t hear much at all about Charlie’s Bags. “Nothing registered with me…. I was in my own world… facing Parliament” | ||
Laidlaw references CCTV of Brooks returning with Charlie to Thames Quay: “Charlie losing things wasn’t anything that would alert me…” | ||
“I do remember some confusion,” says Brooks: “I just wanted to go to bed,” says Brooks about return to Thames Quay in Monday morning | ||
Brooks swiped herself into Flat: “I haven’t eaten for quite a while… probably since before police station… then went straight to bed” | ||
“I remember sleeping…. a good couple of hours sleep,” says Brooks of that day. | ||
“I wake up and I know I have to get ready for select committee,” says Brooks. “That’s when I see Charlie who is quite agitated.” | ||
“That’s when he tells me… late afternoon..” says Brooks: “he’d given his bags to security and there had been a mix up over them.” | ||
“It sounded like a very odd story,” says Brooks: “He’d hidden his rather large porn collection. I was quite exasperated.” | ||
“He hidden the bags. And now there was a chance he would be arrested. Sounds like a monumental cock-up” says Brooks. | ||
“I know how important his horse business and novel is” Brooks says it was the “final straw’ in rather “cataclysmic few days” | ||
Brooks says none of the computers in Charlie’s bags were hers. No truth in allegations of cover-up, says Brooks. | ||
Laidlaw now turns to the files around the PAs area in Brooks’ office. She is asked about her memory of movement of property. | ||
Brooks says she thinks the police went into her sealed office. There was a walk in cupboard where she could get changed. | ||
“Cheryl stayed working at NI helping my successor” says Brooks. Made redundant a couple of weeks later. They went out for pub supper in Oxon | ||
Brooks says Cheryl removed “anything personal to me” from the outer office: “everything you’ve seen on those filing lists” | ||
Brooks thinks Carter returned that 8 or 9 crates three weeks after her resignation | ||
Brooks says she put crates in an old barn in Oxfordshire. “Cheryl talked me through what was in the boxes” she says. | ||
Brooks says these 8 or 9 crates stay in barn until Brooks gets her London office in September 2011: part of her severance package. | ||
Brooks says she had a “sort through” of those 8 crates “I had no idea how long I’m going to be in that London office,” she says | ||
“More personal stuff like photo stay at the barn. Work stuff, diaries, letters” all go to office in Marylebone. | ||
January 2012 Cheryl Carter is arrested: in November before first interviewed by police. | ||
“The solicitors, Kingsley Napley, come and take away the material from new office,” Brooks says of her office property in 2012 | ||
Laidlaw addresses the ‘missing devices’ schedule: a number of blackberrys, iPhones and iPads missing. | ||
Brooks says she knows nothing of serial number or contracts for these devices. She was “very attached” to her Blackberry, she says. | ||
Brooks says her Blackberry upgraded “quite a few times… they broke, a new model would come out, usual wear and tear if u use all the time” | ||
Brooks says she went through 4 or 5 Blackberry’s a year | ||
On iPhone says she was given them on “more than one occasion” during a migration to Apple products at News International | ||
“I was encouraged by our team to swap to an iPhone, which I didn’t want to do at that time” says Brooks: “But was keen to get papers on aps” | ||
“The head of IT would given me an iPhone with the ap downloaded… the first was the Times…. but we were developing them into ap sphere” | ||
Brooks talks about “a race to get Times ap up and running” for launch of iPad in 2010: “we had slight advantage because working with WSJ” | ||
“We didn’t have a formal system as such,” says Brooks of registering iPhones and iPads. “We had a lot of iPads with the developers” | ||
“When we first got iPads to develop on, Apple insisted they were chained to desk. Quite cloak and dagger,’ says Brooks. | ||
“I didn’t like it,” says Brooks of trying to work the iPhone. “Didn’t get on with it…. Kept with my Blackberry.” | ||
“I found the iPad really good for emails…. I think 2 versions came out when I was CEO. And I had it synched to email system” says Brooks | ||
Brooks says “asset management” of devices “rings a vague bell”: she remembers speaking to CFO about “lack of quality of register” | ||
“I do remember bringing it up: ‘How many iPads have we actually got her'” says Brooks of number of devices in NI | ||
“To get the newspapers into a digital forum was the big goal,” says Brooks of NI at that time. | ||
Brooks addresses the police raid on 13/03/12 of Jubilee Barn: “I remember the nanny shouting at me… “ | ||
“Scarlett was born on 25th Jan… she was 5 or 6 years old by then. I was half awake trying to feed her,” says Brooks. | ||
“I went downstairs to stop police banging on the door, to alarm Scarlett… they ran past me and were shouting for Charlie.” says Brooks | ||
“They went upstairs and arrested Charlie… it was completely surreal. I remember the time because of feeding thing. It was quarter to five” | ||
Brooks explains she was rebailed to the Friday just before Charlie’s arrest. | ||
“I knew it wouldn’t be long before story of dawn raid would be on the news,” says Brooks. “I put Sky News on when the searches were on” | ||
“As it happened it didn’t leak till Charlie and I were taken to different police stations,” says Brooks of her arrest in 2012. | ||
“In the confusion of trying to work out why they arrested Charlie, I went upstairs but they wouldn’t let me talk to him,” says Brooks | ||
“Charlie was pretty shaken by the prospect of his mum being raided… there was quite an emotional conversation about him wanting to call” | ||
“I went across with the police so I could reassure her and let her know it was fine,” says Brooks of briefing Charlie’s 80 year old mother | ||
“Charlie hated London anyway and we moved back to the country as soon as I left work,” says Brooks of renting out Thames Quay flat. | ||
Brooks explains why, during a number of police interviews, she remained silent on legal advice, and provided prepared statements. | ||
“I think I’m done”, says Laidlaw. Ten minute break. | ||
Rebekah Brooks Cross Examined by other Defence Counsel | ||
Brooks questioned by Jonathan Caplan QC QC – Counsel for Stuart Kuttner | ||
We’re now onto cross examination of Brooks – starting with defence counsel. | ||
Langdale for Coulson has no questions. Jonathan Caplan QC for Kuttner has a few questions for Brooks. | ||
Brooks is asked if she knew Kuttner was trained in 1950s: “I knew he’d been in Fleet Street forever” | ||
Previous career in Evening News etc. cited. Brooks says she’s know Kuttner since 1990 “mutual respect for each other…” | ||
“He’s more than old enough to be your father,” says Caplan. “Please let’s not go there,” says Justice Saunders. | ||
Brooks agrees the role of the managing editor is adminstrative, but what goes into the paper is the responsibility of editor, deputy etc. | ||
Brooks is asked by Caplan about PCC editor’s code: Brooks never sat on committee. Patsy Jones had, assisted by Kuttner. | ||
Brooks confirms that Kuttner would contact the PCC pre publication to seek advice “if a story was complicated” | ||
Post publication Kuttner would deal with complaints, agrees Brooks | ||
Email to Miskiw sent by Brooks 18/04/91 shown to jury about “Sophie”: “our entrapment and subterfuge has to be justified 110%” | ||
That email is copied to Kuttner and Coulson emphasising the editor’s code of practice after Sophie Wessex Fake Sheikh story. | ||
Brooks agrees that email was sent to Kuttner to assure him she would abide by Editor’s code while she was editor of NOTW. | ||
Caplan cross examines Brooks on the public interest code in newspapers. Brooks says broadcast has a different regulator | ||
Caplan asks: “Whether or not newspapers decide something is in the public interest that is the decision of the editor”: Brooks says yes. | ||
Brooks asked about “widespread use” of Private Investigators in late 90s early 200s. | ||
Brooks is asked whether she remembers “fair opportunity” to reply in editors code. She says it’s number 2 or 3 | ||
Caplan says that all reasonable methods to locate someone are used to enact this “right of reply”. PIs would help trace people | ||
Brooks questioned by David Spens QC – Counsel for Clive Goodman | ||
David Spens QC has some questions on behalf of Clive Goodman. | ||
Brooks is asked about Goodman’s time as a reporter and her evidence he “wouldn’t attend conferences” at NOTW | ||
Brooks gave that evidence when she was looking at NOTW organisational chart: Spens asks for the Count One bundle but it’s gone. | ||
Brooks is given the chart of NOTW. | ||
Spens goes to the News and Investigations sections – including Royal and Diary editor: NOTW organisational chart April 2001. | ||
Brooks says she tried to put together this chart “from memory”: Caplan says “your memory is incorrect… Goodman did work for news desk” | ||
Goodman worked to the then News Editor. We did go to conference as a Royal Editor because his senior was “uncertain over Royal stories” | ||
“I did deal with Clive when he was royal editor. It could be he attended conferences,” says Brooks. | ||
In 2001 Brooks promoted Goodman to deputy editor, says Spens. Brooks: “Clive would know his own…” | ||
Brooks agrees Goodman continued to be by-lined: “He became part of editorial set up and budget.” says Spens. Brooks doesn’t recall | ||
Caplan on Goodman: “I’m suggesting he became part of the editorial management budget” – a budget document from 2001 adduced. | ||
“NB Clive Goodman accommodated in this editorial budget” says NOTW internal document from 2001: “He came to conference in own right” | ||
“I’m sure he did come to conference,” says Brooks of Goodman. “But I don’t remember it.” | ||
Spens (sorry not Caplan) talks about how Brooks did promote Goodman, and both worked together on big NOTW scoop | ||
Brooks agrees Goodman was no trouble to her when he was at NOTW and they got on well. | ||
Spens talks of meeting with Sir Michael Peate who became secretary to Prince of Wales in 2002. | ||
Spens suggests to Brooks that between August 2002 to 12/01/03 she was invited with Goodman to a meeting with Peate at St James’ Palace | ||
“I remember a meeting, but don’t remember much about it,” says Brooks of Sir Michael Peate, “I think I attended one with Clive.” | ||
Spens suggests the meeting was about the portray of Camilla Parker Bowles in the NOTW: “It wouldn’t surprise me,” says Brooks. | ||
Brooks is asked about the practice of “source boosting…. big up their sources”. “I wouldn’t say practice,” says Brooks. | ||
“Journalists might get a tip off from their neighbour and say it was from a great source,” agrees Brooks: “a bit of news room bravado” | ||
“Some journalists wouldn’t need to do that,” says Brooks of source boosting. “They had amazing contacts.” | ||
Brooks: “If they had a tip from a PR… that’s not a sustainable bravado in a news room, but they could exaggerate their sources” | ||
“Not a practice I was aware of,” says Brooks of source boosting. She relates a tip from early book club about Sophie Rees Jones. | ||
Email from Sun journalist to Brooks from 24/11/08 shown to jury again asking for approval of payments and then for prison contact exclusive | ||
Usually the prison officer would receive £5k but on this occasion is offered £4k. Spens goes through admissions on this. | ||
The MSC has confirmed this payment was made by BACs to a journalist: “I didn’t know who… prison contact was,” says Brooks. | ||
“I still don’t know who the source was, and I don’t know why that source was confidential,” says Brooks. | ||
“He says one thing and does another,’ points out Spens. “I took it on face value,’ says Brooks. | ||
14/09/06 meeting with Goodman now explored by David Spens QC, counsel for Goodman, in cross examination with Brooks. | ||
This is a legal note of the meeting with the Detective Super Surtees: sent onto Coulson the following day. | ||
Spens focuses on point NO 9 “at this stage they don’t want to widen to other NOTW journos… Clive is only in cos he was doing it himself” | ||
“‘Doing it’means physically hacking” Spens asserts. Brooks agrees. | ||
Brooks agrees the police were “looking for actual connections between individuals working at NOTW and hacking voicemails” | ||
“I think they said they would widen it if they found that evidence,” says Brooks of legal note. | ||
Brooks says the ‘tasking’ element only came up in reference to the hacking of her own phone by Mulcaire. | ||
Brooks repeats that before she went to see Detective Superintendent Surtees she knew Mulcaire worked for NOTW | ||
“At the time there wasn’t any concern relating to the fact Glenn Mulcaire was a working detective at NOTW,’ says Brooks. | ||
No mention says Brooks to any reference to any other News Editors who have now pleaded guilty to Count One. | ||
Brooks says Yates in charge but she never heard that the original investigation was “superficial”: break till 10 am |
Note: All the defendants deny all the charges. The trial continues.
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