Rebekah Brooks (former chief executive of Rupert Murdoch's British media group News International) and her husband Charlie Brooks (a racehorse trainer and personal friend of Prime Minister David Cameron) appeared in court on Wednesday after being charged with offences relating to the News of the World phone hacking allegations.
They were granted further bail for a fortnight and ordered to attend the next hearing on June 22 ahead of a trial.
District Judge Howard Riddle warned them that if they did not turn up on time for the next hearing their bail would be cancelled.
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"You should be there no later than 9.30am. If you do not turn up on time you commit an offence and lose your bail, and in some circumstances the trial could continue in your absence," he told them sternly.
Four others, charged along with them, were also present. They included Ms Brooks' former personal assistant Cheryl Carter; head of security at News International Mark Hanna; driver Paul Edwards; and security consultant Daryl Jorsling.
All are charged with conspiracy to pervert the course of justice by tampering with evidence relevant to the hacking inquiry.
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Ms Brooks and her husband are accused of removing seven boxes of material from the News International archive and concealing documents, computers and other electronic equipment from police. The allegations relate to last July after Ms Brooks was forced to resign amid new allegations of hacking at News of the World when she was its editor.
Charging them, the office of public prosecutor said there was “sufficient evidence for there to be a realistic prospect of conviction''.
Ms Brooks has denied the allegations and accused the prosecution service of “unprecedented posturing'.