Not guilty Rebekah’s eyes f illed with tears
ALMOST exactly three years after her dramatic arrest, Rebekah Brooks could not hide her relief as she was cleared on all charges yesterday.
The former newspaper editor fought back a smile as she was acquitted of the first charge against her – conspiracy to hack phones.
As the not guilty verdicts continued, the 46-year-old began to shake visibly as the threat of criminal convictions and a jail sentence finally receded.
In the last three years, Mrs Brooks has suffered the most cataclysmic fall from grace, from being one of the most influential women in Britain to one of the most reviled.
And for the past eight months she has been the focus of the most intense attention at Court No 12 at the Old Bailey, where every aspect of her life was dissected during her evidence.
As she was cleared of all charges, her eyes filled with tears. On one side, her devoted personal assistant and coaccused Cheryl Carter squeezed her arm and smiled as she was found not guilty. On the other, her husband Charlie Brooks rocked back on his feet as he too was acquitted.
The jury also found veteran News of the World managing editor Stuart Kuttner and security chief Mark Hanna not guilty.
Mrs Brooks seemed to be trying to keep her emotions in check when the first of the not guilty verdicts was announced, simply nodding towards the jury with a slight smile.
Dressed in a white blouse, she appeared to hold the hand of her former assistant as she was cleared. The pair looked at each other in the dock after the not guilty verdict against Mrs Carter was given to the court.
Mr Brooks stood with his hands folded in front of him as he was cleared. His wife brushed him comfortingly as the verdict was given, while he stood staring straight ahead.
Outside the courtroom, Mrs Brooks appeared overcome and close to tears. She was escorted through crowds by the Old Bailey’s matron, prompting confusion when some thought she had collapsed in court. But she apparently r all i ed enough strength to apply a fresh coat of lipstick before she left the Old Bailey, with her husband telling journalists that she had been advised not to speak.
The temptation to launch an assault on the police, the prosecution and her former political allies must have been almost overwhelming. But as she was bundled into a black cab by her husband and l awyer, Mrs Brooks’ smile spoke volumes. Several court staff waved goodbye as she went on her way.
Her lawyer Jonathan Laidlaw had argued the prosecution failed to produce a ‘smoking gun’ during her 14 days of i ntense questioning on the stand, likening the authorities’ decision to take her to court to a medieval witch hunt.
‘If what you saw was a mask, Mrs Brooks must be a witch with truly supernatural powers,’
‘So happy for my friends’
he told the jury. ‘No human mask could withstand that amount of scrutiny without cracking.’
As the news of her acquittal broke, Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson, a friend of Mrs Brooks, said on Twitter that he was ‘beyond ecstatic’.
Former Daily Mirror editor Piers Morgan tweeted: ‘ So happy for my friends Rebekah and Charlie.’
It will provide some relief for Rupert Murdoch, who once described the woman who rose to be chief executive of his London-based News International operation as his ‘top priority’ when the phone hacking crisis broke in the summer of 2011.
Mrs Brooks was found not guilty of four charges including conspiring to hack phones, making corrupt payments to public officials and conspiring with others to conceal evidence from police.