Charlie Brooks (racehorse trainer) on suspicion of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice. They were charged with perverting the course of justice in May 2012. Charlie and Rebekah Brooks appeared in court at the Old Bailey on 26 September 2012. Rebekah Brooks faced three charges and Charlie Brooks one charge of conspiring to pervert the course of justice by concealing material from police officers. Their trial started in October 2013. In Brooks' own defence, his lawyer called him "foolish," "stupid" and "not academically gifted". One character witness, Sara Bradstock, told the court how he drank a pint of washing up liquid to get
Metropolitan Police role in the news media phone hacking scandal disclosed that voicemail messages from Milly Dowler's phone had been hacked back in 2002 by an agent of "News of the World" looking for a story. This disclosure inflamed public opinion and led to loss of advertising for "News of the World" and subsequent closure of this 168-year-old newspaper. Within two weeks, senior News Corporation executives resigned, including Les Hinton, chief executive of Dow Jones & Company, Rebekah Brooks, chief executive of News International, Tom Crone, legal manager of News International, and Lawrence Jacobs, general counsel for News Corporation. Also within two weeks, the two top officials of the Metropolitan