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Phone-hacking trial: Rebekah Brooks, codenamed 'Blackhawk', had office and car checked 'daily for listening devices'

By James Doleman

January 13, 2014 | 7 min read

  • Brooks codenamed "Blackhawk" by security
  • Had office and car checked "daily" for listening devices.
  • News International office "masked" to prevent outside surveillance
  • Threatening letters "poured into company" as result of hacking scandal

Court resumed sitting this morning with the cross-examination of Jane Viner, the facilities director for News Group Newspapers, formerly News International (for her testimony in chief see here). Only four of the defendants were in the dock, Rebekah Brooks, Cheryl Carter, Charlie Brooks and Mark Hanna.

Rebekah Brooks

Trevor Burke, QC for Cheryl Carter, began by asking the witness to examine emails relating to property stored by Brooks in the News international archive. Viner told the court that while she was copied into the mail she had no recollection of any action she took in response to it. Attentions then turned to a confidential email, from 14 July 2011 between Brooks and the witness, the day before Brooks was declared a "person of interest" by police investigating phone hacking. In the email Brooks requests to relocate her office from News International HQ to the barn at her Oxfordshire home. Viner confirmed that Brooks was planning to work from home for a period to avoid media attention. Cheryl Carter was named as the person arranging the move.

Viner then told the court that on 15 July police came to the building and searched Brooks' office. They did not however seal the filing cabinets belonging to Brooks' personal assistant Carter. The witness said there was no restriction on Carter removing her personal property from the building and eight crates were provided to allow her to pack up her belongings. These were subsequently transported by van to Carter's mother-in-law. The police, Burke suggested, took "no interest" in Carter's property.

Mark Hanna's barrister, William Clegg, then rose to question the witness. He began by telling the jury this was the first time he had spoken in the case and apologised if he "might be rusty". He showed the jury aerial photographs of Thomas Moore Square, where News International was based, and of its previous HQ in Wapping. The two places, Clegg suggested, were close geographically but the move was still a "huge logistical exercise." Hanna, Viner agreed, had a lot of responsibility during the move as "group director of security for the whole of News International".

The barrister then asked the witness what impression she had of Hanna during the time that they worked together. She told the court she found him "hard-working," "trustworthy" and "fair to the people who worked for him." Hanna, the witness confirmed, had a wide range of responsibilities, including dealing with the theft of lead from the company's roof. He had also dealt with an incident when some Fox News journalists had been "kidnapped" in Egypt and, as an ex-soldier, routinely briefed journalists on security when they worked overseas.

Viner then asked about threatening and abusive letters received by News International after the phone-hacking scandal broke in 2011. It was Hanna, the witness agreed, who assessed the letters and decided which could be a cause of serious concern. It was also Hanna's role to arrange for the routine "sweeping" of News International's offices to detect listing devices. In 2011, Clegg told the court, News International was engaged in the "sensitive topic" of increasing its share in British Sky Broadcasting which was was another reason to check for illicit surveillance. This was carried out by a company called White Rock. An email from January 2011 sent from Rebekah Brooks was shown to the jury in which she requests that her office and Chelsea flat to be "discretely swept". Brooks also had Hanna check her car for bugs. During the BskyB bid sweeping was carried out "daily".

Burke then asked the witness to confirm that, unlike in the court, News International was a "first name business" to which Mr Justice Saunders prompted some laughter in the court with the remark, "We could change that if you like?" The witness agreed however that Brooks' using of Hanna's first name in emails did not imply any "friendship" between them. "She was still the boss," Viner confirmed.

Hanna, the court was told, was responsible for the personal security of senior News International staff, including Rebekah Brooks. After the rise in the perceived security risk when the phone-hacking scandal grew, an outsourced company "International Corporate Protection", was contracted to provide personal guards. Three code names were given to these operations, Blackhawk, Sparrowhawk and Kestrel. Brooks, the witness said was codenamed "Blackhawk." As part of the contract Mr and Mrs Brooks had full-time security guards at both their London and Oxfordshire homes. As a result, the witness told the court, Hanna was busier than usual and working longer hours.

The defence barrister then asked the witness about the events of Sunday 17 July 2011. Mr and Mrs Brooks were at this point staying at a new location in London and Hanna, the witness agreed, had gone to the property to check the security arrangements. This was on top of his usual workload and was in addition to a visit that day by Rupert Murdoch. There were also arrangements to be made for an appearance by both Brooks and Murdoch at a parliamentary select committee. The "perceived security risk", the witness agreed, had never been higher and Viner was concerned about his welfare under this "enormous stress".

Viner was asked if she had been aware Brooks had an appointment with the police arranged for the Sunday, a meeting the court has already heard that led to her arrest. The witness said she had no direct knowledge of that at the time and nor did she inform Hanna about it. The defence QC suggested that the fact Hanna was in Oxfordshire that day showed he also did not know about the police appointment. Viner replied that she had no direct knowlege of what Hanna knew but assumed that could have been the case.

The court then took a short break.

When the jury returned to their seats the defence QC showed the jury further documents showing the "wide breadth" of Hanna's duties for News International. The documents note that a result of the widening phone-hacking scandal there had been a number of demonstrations outside the company's offices as well as further threatening correspondence. The building had also been "masked" as an anti-surveillance measure. Burke then brought into evidence telephone billing records, including those of the witness and Mark Hanna. This shows the pair were in regular contact, including on the day of Brooks' arrest. The barrister suggested that this was a routine call updating her on various security issues; the witness said she could not remember the specifics of the call but did recall discussing that Hanna was driving a different car as she had emailed an insurance company to amend his cover. Viner could not confirm that the car Hanna was driving that Sunday belonged to Charlie Brooks nor could she recall him mentioning Rebekah Brooks' meeting with the police.

The court then rose for lunch.

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