The former chief executive of Rupert Murdoch's British newspaper arm, has been charged with perverting the course of justice over a phone hacking scandal at one of the media mogul's papers, British prosecutors said.
Rebekah Brooks, a former confidante of media baron Rupert Murdoch, was today charged with conspiracy to pervert the course of justice along with her husband and four others, the first criminal charges filed in a wide-ranging probe into the phone-hacking scandal in Britain.
Brooks, 43, joined News International in 1989 and soon rose to editorships and Murdoch's top management team while forging "friendships" with Prime Ministers Tony Blair, Gordon Brown and David Cameron.
After editing the News of the World and the Sun, she became the Chief Executive Officer of the company that has the largest share of newspaper market in Britain.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) today confirmed that three charges were being brought against Brooks, her racehorse trainer husband Charles Brooks, who, with four others, are the first to face charges in the multiple investigations related to the phone-hacking scandal.
The last high-profile Briton to be charged with perverting the course of justice was novelist Jeffrey Archer, who was convicted and sentenced for four years in 2001. The maximum sentence that a judge can impose on a defendant convicted of perverting the course of justice is life imprisonment.
It is a common law offence that must be tried before a jury in a crown court.
Brooks, who had detailed her association with Prime Ministers during her appearance at the Leveson Inquiry last Friday, and her husband termed the CPS charges "weak and unjust," while her long-time personal assistant Cheryl Carter, who also faces similar charges, vigorously denied committing any offence.
Meanwhile, Scotland Yard arrested two more persons—a man, 50, and a woman, 43, - in relation to Operation Elveden, which is investigating allegations of illegal payments to public officials by journalists for information to be used in news stories.
Brooks and her husband - neighbours and good friends of Prime Minister David Cameron - in Oxfordshire - are among seven people associated with News International who were arrested earlier.
One of the seven persons will not face charges, the CPS said.
Brooks has been charged with three charges of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice, including the alleged removal of seven cases of material from the archive of News International and the concealing of documents and computers from officers investigating phone-hacking.
The CPS received a file of evidence from the Metropolitan Police Service on March 27 in relation to seven suspects: Rebekah Brooks; Charles Brooks; Cheryl Carter; Mark Hanna (Head of Security at News International); Paul Edwards (Rebekah Brooks' chauffeur employed by News International); Daryl Jorsling and a seventh suspect - both of whom provided security for Rebekah Brooks supplied by News International.
The CPS said that Rebekah Brooks between July 6 and 19 in 2011 conspired with Charles Brooks, Cheryl Carter, Mark Hanna, Paul Edwards, Daryl Jorsling and persons unknown to conceal material from officers of the Metropolitan Police Service.
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