Rebekah Brooks, former chief executive of Rupert Murdoch’s British media group News International (NI), and others charged with offences relating to the News of the World ( NoW ) phone hacking scandal appeared in court on Wednesday for a pre-trial hearing and were told that their trial would start on September 9, 2013.
All were released on bail.
In all, seven former NoW journalists whose names read like the “who’s who” of the Murdoch Press, have been charged. They include its former editor Andy Coulson who later became Prime Minister David Cameron’s communications chief. He resigned last year after being arrested over his alleged role in the scandal.
In a separate case, Ms. Brooks and her husband Charlie Brooks, a personal friend of Mr Cameron, were charged with conspiracy to pervert the course of justice by allegedly trying to hide evidence from police investigating the scandal.
All the accused deny any wrongdoing.