Angry Rebekah raps 'waste of public money': Witch-hunt, says hubby
Ex-News International chief Rebekah Brooks described as "weak and unjust" the decision by the UK prosecuting authorities to bring charges against her yesterday in the News of the World phone -hacking affair.
Angry Rebekah Brooks hits out
The case against her was an "expensive sideshow and waste of public money", she said.
Outside her solicitor's office in London, she said she could not express how angry she was that those close to her had been "unfairly dragged into this".
Brooks, 43, faces three charges of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice over allegations that she concealed "material, documents and computers" from detectives investigating phone hacking and alleged bribes to public officials by journalists at the Sun.
Her husband, Charlie Brooks, a racehorse trainer and friend of the prime minister, faces one charge of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice by acting with others to "conceal documents, computer and other electronic devices" from detectives.
He said the decision was "an attempt to use me and others as scapegoats, the effect of which is to ratchet up the pressure on my wife, who I believe is the subject of a witch-hunt".
The couple were among six people – including News International head of security, Mark Hanna – charged over allegations that they were engaged in a cover-up to hide evidence from police investigating phone hacking at the News of the World.
A close confidante of Rupert Murdoch, Brooks was charged by police at a police station in Lewisham yesterday afternoon.
She had travelled to London with her husband from their home in Oxfordshire to answer bail after their arrest in March.
But the couple were made to attend different police stations – Mrs Brooks at Lewisham, and her husband at Hammersmith .
The decision to bring the first charges in the phone-hacking investigation, Operation Weeting, had been announced earlier by Alison Levitt QC, of the CPS.
Ms Levitt chose to make a televised statement, she said, in the interests of "transparency and accountability".
Brooks, however, condemned the live broadcast as "the further unprecedented posturing of the CPS".
All the alleged offences took place in July last year .The charge carries a maximum penalty of life, although the average term served in prison is 10 months. Brooks also remains on bail over phone-hacking allegations and allegations over bribes to public officials.
Scotland Yard said all six defendants were released on bail to appear at Westminster magistrates court on 13 June.