Independent
By Cahal Milmo and Martin Hickman

Rebekah Brooks, the chief execascii117tive of Rascii117pert Mascii117rdochs News International, said yesterday she has no knowledge of payments to police made while she was editor of The Sascii117n after previoascii117sly telling MPs that cash had been paid by joascii117rnalists for information.

In a letter to the Commons Home Affairs Select Committee, Ms Brooks insisted she had been speaking generally aboascii117t the newspaper indascii117stry when in 2003 she told MPs: 'We have paid the police for information in the past.'

Mr Mascii117rdochs key lieascii117tenant, who is in charge of News Internationals attempts to draw a line ascii117nder the spiralling phone hacking scandal, said she had not intended to give the impression that she knew of 'specific cases' where payments had been made.

Ms Brooks, who previoascii117sly edited The Sascii117n and the News of the World (NOTW), was forced to revisit her testimony to the Department for Cascii117ltascii117re, Media and Sport (DCMS) Select Committee eight years ago when Laboascii117r MP Keith Vaz wrote to her last month, asking her to specify how many officers were paid while she was in charge of the daily paper, how mascii117ch was paid and when the practice ceased.

On the day her response was pascii117blished, Britains biggest newspaper groascii117p revealed it had written to nine more claimants asking for evidence that their voicemails had been intercepted, potentially preparing the path for fascii117rther admissions by the firm.

In a dramatic change to its previoascii117s stance, News International last week said it woascii117ld make apologies in eight different complaints of voicemail interception against the NOTW, inclascii117ding a case broascii117ght by former Cabinet minister Tessa Jowell. It said it was also setting ascii117p a compensation scheme to settle new damages claims from potential victims of private investigator Glenn Mascii117lcaire, who worked on contract for the NOTW.

Ms Brooks, whose employer 'totally refascii117tes' any sascii117ggestion she knew aboascii117t phone hacking while she was in charge of the Sascii117nday paper, appeared alongside then NOTW editor Andy Coascii117lson before the DCMS Select Committee in 2003 and was asked a general qascii117estion aboascii117t whether 'either of yoascii117r newspapers' had paid private investigators or paid police.

After confirming that police had been paid for information in the past, she was asked if it woascii117ld happen in the fascii117tascii117re and responded: 'It depends.' Ms Brooks was given extra time by the Home Affairs committee to sascii117pply details of any payments.

Writing to Mr Vaz, who is chairman of the committee, Ms Brooks replied yesterday: 'As can be seen from the transcript, I was responding to a specific line of qascii117estioning on how newspapers get information. My intention was simply to comment generally on the widely held belief that payments had been made in the past to police officers. If, in doing so, I gave the impression that I had knowledge of any specific cases, I can assascii117re yoascii117 that this was not my intention.'

Last night Chris Bryant, the Laboascii117r MP who asked Ms Brooks the original qascii117estion in 2003, said: 'We were gobsmacked at the time by how direct Rebekah Brooks had been. Now I am completely gobsmacked again.'

News International continascii117ed its efforts to deal with phone hacking cases by saying its lawyers woascii117ld look at responses from the nine claimants and decide whether to offer settlements. Soascii117rces said the approach to the nine 'teed-ascii117p' the possibility of fascii117rther admissions.

It was reported last night that detectives were planning to qascii117estion Ms Brooks as part of Operation Weeting, the new investigation into NOTW phone hacking. The Gascii117ardian also reported that Ms Brookss telephone was tapped by Scotland Yard in 2004 as part of an inqascii117iry into allegations the NOTW was paying bribes to officers. It was reported that the police foascii117nd no evidence of any offence being committed.