Rebekah Brooks bailed after court date over hacking scandal
REBEKAH Brooks made a preliminary appearance in a London court yesterday, accused of hindering a police investigation into phone hacking and corruption by staff at British tabloids.
A large crowd of photographers and reporters greeted the arrival at court of the 44-year-old, a former editor of both the News of the World and The Sun.
Brooks is charged with concealing material from detectives carrying out a major inquiry into alleged criminal activities at News International, the British newspaper arm of Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp where she was chief executive until last year.
Police say she was involved in the removal of boxes of archive records from its London headquarters, concealing material from detectives, and hiding documents, computers and other electronic equipment.
Brooks, her racehorse trainer husband Charlie, her secretary and three other staff from News International face charges of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice.
Brooks spoke only to confirm her address and date of birth before being granted bail. The cases of all the defendants were sent to Southwark Crown Court where the next hearing will be on 22 June.