Rebekah Brooks cleared

UPDATED – Rebekah Brooks has commented in public for the first time after being cleared of all charges during the phone hacking case.

Clearly emotional, and with her husband Charlie at her side, the former chief executive of the now defunct News International group said: “I am innocent of the crimes that I was charged with and I feel vindicated by the unanimous verdicts.”

Posing in front of members of the media, she would not speak about the conviction of her co-accused Andy Coulson who was found guilty and could be imprisoned for up to two years.

Mrs Brooks said: “We haven’t got much to add to what we said two years ago. Of course, the last few years have been tough for both of us and for those closest to us. 

“But, more importantly, they have been tough for everybody on all sides that have been affected by the issues highlighted by this case and therefore throughout the three-year police investigation and through our eight-month trial at the Old Bailey we have always tried to put our troubles in perspective.

“After all, we have a happy and healthy daughter. We have our brave and resolute mums who have been at court most of the time and we have had strong and unwavering support from all our friends, our family and from our legal teams that have believed in us from the beginning.

“I am innocent of the crimes that I was charged with and I feel vindicated by the unanimous verdicts. When I was arrested, it was in the middle of a maelstrom of controversy, of politics and of comment. Some of that was fair but much of it was not so I am very grateful to the jury for coming to their decision. 

“After all, we have a happy and healthy daughter. We have our brave and resolute mums who have been at court most of the time and we have had strong and unwavering support from all friends, our family and from our legal teams that have believed in us from the beginning.”

She added: “I am innocent of the crimes that I was charged with and I feel vindicated by the unanimous verdicts. When I was arrested, it was in the middle of a maelstrom of controversy, of politics and of comment. Some of that was fair but much of it was not so I am very grateful to the jury for coming to their decision.

“I would like to say it has been a time of reflection for me. I have learned some valuable lessons and hopefully I am the wiser for it.

“I am incredibly proud of the many journalists I have worked with throughout my career and the great campaigns that we have fought and won.

“All I can say to you all is that today my thoughts are with my former colleagues and their families who face future trials. I am going to do everything I can to support them as I know how anxious the times ahead are.

“What I am going to do now and I hope you don’t mind…I can’t say too much today. I have to be careful for my former colleagues’ sake what I say. My thoughts are with them like I said and their families. Now we are going home to spend some much needed time with Scarlett.”

During the trial members of the jury heard evidence from celebrities as well as members of the public, whose telephones had been hacked between 2000 and 2006. Victims included the family of murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler and actor Daniel Craig.

Brooks was said to be emotional as she left the dock after the verdict was announced. She has been cleared of hacking, misconduct in a public office, allegedly signing off payments from a journalist to a military contact of The Sun between 2004 and 2012, conspiracy to pervert the course of justice and perverting the course of justice.

The 52-year-old racehorse trainer and husband of Rebekah, Charlie Brooks, was also found not guilty as was News International’s former head of security Mark Hanna, 51.

Mr and Mrs Brooks made no comment to the waiting media as they left the court.

Also cleared was Ex-News of the World managing editor Stuart Kuttner was also cleared of being part of a conspiracy to hack phones.

The jury cleared Cheryl Carter, Mrs Brooks’ personal friend and her former personal assistant, of conspiring to pervert the course of justice, she was said to have removed seven boxes from the News International archives prior to her arrest.