Prosecutors reject Brooks' claims of ignorance in phone hacking coverup

In the latest development regarding the phone hacking at News Corp's UK unit, prosecutors have argued that former chief executive and ex-News of the World editor Rebekah Brooks had full knowledge of the phone hacking cover-up at the company. Prosecutor Andrew Edis said that only five out of the 110 hacking victims had been investigated by police despite the fact that Brooks disclosed that there were as many as 110 victims of phone hacking by their company. Bloomberg said that News Corp insisted that the phone hacking was done solely by a rogue reporter and that the company has no knowledge of such activity.

Examining Brooks on his first-day cross examination at a London court, Edis questioned the former news media business head, "That was not true, was it? You knew, didn't you (as a result of the police information?) The whole truth didn't emerge during the trial."

Brooks reportedly said she thought so, and that she was informed that her own messages were also accessed.

However, Brooks maintained that she has no involvement if News Corp did cover up the extent of the phone hacking activities at its UK business unit. "I didn't see it like that. It is true that I knew there were (more victims but) the police said they needed between five and 10 victims (to charge Mulcaire and Goodman)."

Clive Goodman, who is named as a defendant in the phone hacking case on trial today along with detective and phone hacker Glenn Mulcaire. Goodman was held up in jail in 2006 for hacking the mobile phones of aides to the British royal family.

Early this week, Brooks said that she thought the defense of the company's rogue reporter was shaky when she learned via a 2005 e-mail that phone hacking practices at the company were more widespread than she thought.

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News Corp phone hacking trial, Rebekah Brooks verdict

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