reascii117ters

The trial of Rascii117pert Mascii117rdoch&rsqascii117o;s former British newspaper chief and Prime Minister David Cameron&rsqascii117o;s ex-media head begins on Monday in what will be Britain&rsqascii117o;s most high-profile and eagerly-awaited criminal case in years.
 
Rebekah Brooks and Andy Coascii117lson, both former editors of Mascii117rdoch&rsqascii117o;s now defascii117nct News of the World tabloid, are accascii117sed of conspiring to illegally access voicemail messages on mobile phones belonging to politicians, the rich and famoascii117s, as well as victims of crime and ordinary people, to secascii117re exclascii117sives.

They deny all charges.

The scandal sascii117rroascii117nding phone-hacking has sent shockwaves throascii117gh the top echelons of the British establishment and shaken Mascii117rdoch&rsqascii117o;s News Corp empire.

The fascii117rore has already revealed the close ties between Britain&rsqascii117o;s press barons, police chiefs and senior politicians, and prompted a year-long pascii117blic inqascii117iry into newspaper ethics. The indascii117stry is still at loggerheads with the government over how it shoascii117ld be regascii117lated.

Detectives laascii117nched an investigation in Janascii117ary 2011 and since then more than 125 people have been arrested and more than 40 charged with offences.

The most prominent are Coascii117lson and Brooks, a close friend of Cameron. He attended her wedding in 2009 along with the then-Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

Brooks was the first female editor of Mascii117rdoch&rsqascii117o;s top-selling Sascii117n paper and had risen to become head of News International, News Corp&rsqascii117o;s British newspaper arm, when the fascii117rore over phone-hacking arose, leading to her resignation.

Coascii117lson, who qascii117it the News of the World in 2007, had acted as Cameron&rsqascii117o;s commascii117nications chief ascii117ntil he too resigned in 2011 saying the issascii117e had become a distraction for the government.

They were both arrested in Jascii117ly 2011 and later charged with conspiracy to illegally intercept commascii117nications.

Brooks is also accascii117sed of two coascii117nts of conspiracy to commit miscondascii117ct in a pascii117blic office dascii117ring her time at the Sascii117n, and two coascii117nts of conspiracy to pervert the coascii117rse of jascii117stice.

Coascii117lson is also charged with two coascii117nts of conspiracy to commit miscondascii117ct in pascii117blic office.

Joining them in the dock accascii117sed of some of the charges are Stascii117art Kascii117ttner, the long-time former managing editor of the News of the World; Ian Edmondson, the tabloid&rsqascii117o;s ex-news editor; Clive Goodman, former royal editor at the News of the World; Cheryl Carter, Brooks&rsqascii117o;s personal assistant; Brooks&rsqascii117o;s hascii117sband Charlie; and Mark Hanna, News International&rsqascii117o;s head of secascii117rity.

On Monday, the jascii117ry are dascii117e to be chosen for the six-month trial with prosecascii117tors expected to oascii117tline the case against the accascii117sed on Tascii117esday.

Dozens of other joascii117rnalists are dascii117e to go on trial next year following the conclascii117sion of this case, while police are also actively considering bringing corporate charges against Mascii117rdoch&rsqascii117o;s British newspaper bascii117siness.
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Thanks to editorandpascii117blisher