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
Rebekah Brooks of her first co-editors before becoming a journalist at "Private Eye" magazine, recalled a "likeable, skinny, hollow-eyed girl who was very ambitious". After school she worked for the French magazine "L'architecture d'aujourd'hui" in Paris, before returning to Britain to work for Eddy Shah's Messenger Group. Graham Ball, the then features editor at "The Post" newspaper, recalled that she was a notably astute and intelligent staff member. When "The Post" was disbanded, Brooks then moved to the "News of the World". She joined the Sunday newspaper "News of the World" in 1989 as a secretary, before working as a feature writer