The first two days of Rebekah Brooks on the stand to testify about the alleged phone hacking at shutteredd News of the World tabloid, a News Corp division, revealed how owner and chairman Rupert Murdoch had run his four businesses in the UK, Bloomberg said. Brooks, who was the head of the UK unit of News Corp and a former editor of the News of the World, revealed her personal and working relationships which played a crucial factor to the alleged crimes she and the rest of the editors reportedly succumbed for their careers' sakes.
"You had four editors trying to get the biggest cut of the pot," Brooks said today, also revealing that all editors had to make pitches personally to Murdoch for budget increases.
The second day of the trial, however, saw Brooks distancing herself from the illegal activities of a private detective who had been the center of the tabloid's alleged phone-hacking. Bloomberg said that News of the World awarded a £92,000 or $153,000 contract to Glenn Mulcaire to hack phones for front-page scoops. Brooks was editor then at the time the weekly tabloid hired the detective, said the news agency. She claimed to the court that she failed to detect the discrepancy of the tabloid's budget, which was at that time worth £23.4 million.
Brooks' relationship with Andy Coulson, who reportedly followed her as News of the World editor, was also brought up by prosecutors, of which she claimed was an indication of the state of her future personal relationships. Bloomberg said Coulson is now a press aide to British Prime Minister David Cameron.
Brooks has been let go earlier yesterday of one count of bribery in relation to the allegations that she gave her approval for the payment of a controversial photo of Prince William, Bloomberg said. However, Brooks is still facing other charges in relation to the phone hacking scandal and bribes made to public official at the UK newspapers of News Corp.
