Phone-hacking trial of Murdoch aides set to open

— They were once two of the most powerful people in the British media, senior executives for media mogul Rupert Murdoch and associates of Prime Minister David Cameron.

Former News of the World editors Rebekah Brooks and Andy Coulson are due to go on trial Monday, along with several others, on charges of hacking phones and bribing officials while at the now-shuttered Murdoch tabloid.

The trial unfolding in a plain, starkly lit room at London's Central Criminal Court should provide high drama for media watchers - and an unwelcome reminder for Murdoch and Cameron of the two-year-old scandal that continues to tarnish Britain's media, politicians and police.

Murdoch tweeted about the upcoming trial earlier this month: "Remember, everyone innocent until proven guilty, entitled to fair trial in most countries."


The three highest-profile defendants are: Brooks, 45, ex-editor of the News of the World and former chief executive of Rupert Murdoch's British newspapers; Coulson, 45, another former News of the World editor who was Prime Minister David Cameron's communications chief until 2011; and Rebekah Brooks' 50-year-old husband Charles Brooks, a racehorse trainer.

Coulson and Rebekah Brooks have become the faces of the scandal, though neither has been convicted of wrongdoing.

He was the elusive figure - rarely photographed - behind Cameron's canny media strategy. She was the flame-haired high-flyer who exchanged text messages with her friend and neighbor Cameron while overseeing Murdoch's politically powerful British newspapers.

They face trial alongside former News of the World managing editor Stuart Kuttner, ex-news editor Ian Edmondson and former royal editor Clive Goodman; Rebekah Brooks' former assistant Cheryl Carter; and Mark Hanna, former security chief at Murdoch's News International.



Rebekah Brooks, Charles Brooks, Carter and Hanna are accused of conspiring to pervert the course of justice by removing material from the company archive and withholding computers and documents from police.

The defendants deny all the charges.



The furor led Murdoch to close the News of The World and triggered police investigations into phone hacking, computer hacking and the bribery of officials, which have expanded to take in other newspapers.

More than 30 people have been charged, including senior journalists and editors from the News of the World and its sister paper, The Sun.


This will be a long and complex trial, expected to last up to five months. The first step will be selecting a jury; the prosecution is expected to begin outlining its case later in the week.


