Phone hacking verdicts

From The Evening Standard and Harry Potter Wiki

Rebekah Brooks was today sensationally cleared of all charges in the phone hacking trial. But Andy Coulson, the former Daily Prophet editor and spin doctor, hung his head in the dock at the Old Bailey as he looks set to go to Azkaban.

He was found guilty of conspiring to hack muggle communication devices and the Wizengamot continues its deliberations on charges of him plotting to make illegal payments to Ministry of Magic officials for stories.

Coulson’s ex-lover Rebekah Brooks, a trusted protégé of Lord Voldemort, is now free to resume her career as a Death Eater. The flame haired high flyer* punched the air in the dock, hugged her lawyers and fellow defendants and then left on a broom stick.

* That phrase is straight from the Evening Standard article, they didn't dare write "The red haired witch" or say that she cackled as she left the Court.

"Phone-hacking defendant: 'It was a terrible misunderstanding on my part'"

From the BBC:

News International's head of security has told the phone-hacking trial that items he removed for safekeeping contained pornography belonging to another defendant, Charlie Brooks.

Mark Hanna told the jury at the Old Bailey in London that it seemed "obvious" to him that Mr Brooks did not mind if the police or his wife found out about it, and he even assumed that his wife, Rebekah, shared her husband's interest in the material.

Giving evidence for a second day, Mr Hanna said Mr Brooks had asked him to look after a brown leather bag left in his car and later handed him a padded bag and a laptop for safekeeping too.

"He explained it was his own personal property and that it was pornography," said Mr Hanna.

"I was under the mistaken impression that like most married blokes, he would have introduced his wife to porn at the very start of their marriage and that like most married women she'd also enjoy having a quick flick through when he was out of the house.

"Like most men in a relationship, he had never deleted his browser history or anything. It was a great surprise when he later told me that he had never informed his wife and did not want it to get into the hands of the police."

"My wife... is the subject of a witch hunt"

... claims Mr Brooks.

It's not difficult to see why they'd pick on her, though:

Fun Online Polls: Care home fees and News Of The World

Thanks to everybody who took part in last week's Fun Online Poll, results as follows:

Who ought to pay for the long-term care of 'asset-rich' pensioners?

They themselves and their likely heirs - 74%
The taxpayer generally - 20%
Other, please specify - 5%

Crikey it seems like a long time ago since that was the hot topic. Anyway, it's nice to see that I'm with the majority on this one.
----------------------------------------------
This week, let's do a Trial By Internet. To save time, let's put them all in the dock in one go.

Vote here or use the widget in the sidebar.

Rebekah Brooks