Brooks unveils ties with UK elite

London—Prime Minister David Cameron was among top politicians who commiserated with Rebekah Brooks when she was forced to resign in disgrace as head of Rupert Murdoch’s British newspaper group over a phone-hacking scandal, she told an inquiry on Friday. Brooks is a former editor of the News of the World, which Murdoch shut in July when it emerged its journalists had hacked into the voicemail of public figures and a murdered schoolgirl. She was appearing at a judicial inquiry into press ethics to answer questions about her friendships with British politicians and the influence of Murdoch newspapers.

Her testimony revealed she had met frequently with Cameron, lobbied key offices of government for the approval of a major Murdoch takeover bid and intervened in the long-running row between former Labour Prime Ministers Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. “We were a newspaper that was looking after the real serious concerns of our readers,” she said, glancing between her race-horse trainer husband Charlie, the judge and lead lawyer. Brooks was dressed in a demure black dress with white collar that contrasted with her more colourful public image.

Lawyer Robert Jay cut straight to the chase as Brooks began her day-long testimony, pressing her for names of politicians who had expressed sympathy when she was caught up in the hacking storm in July 2011. At first Brooks sought to evade the question, but eventually said: “I received some indirect messages from Number 10, Number 11, the Home Office, the Foreign Office.”—Reuters