Bodyguard for ex-Murdoch chief Brooks charged over ‘conspiracy’

David Johnson, 47, has been charged with conspiring with others to pervert the course of justice between July 15 and 19 2011, the force said.

He is due to appear before Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday.

It is alleged that Johnson, of London Road, Mitcham, Surrey, conspired with six people who have already been charged, including Brooks and her husband Charlie, to “conceal computers and other items” from officers who were investigating allegations of phone hacking and payments to public officials in relation to the now-defunct News of the World and The Sun.

Gregor McGill, a senior Crown Prosecution Service lawyer, said: “Following a careful review of the evidence, we have concluded that David Johnson, a security professional who was employed to provide a protection service to Rebekah Brooks, should be charged with an offence of conspiracy to pervert the course of public justice.

“It is alleged that between 15 and 19 July 2011 Mr Johnson conspired to pervert the course of justice by concealing computers and other items from the Metropolitan Police Service during its investigation into allegations of phone hacking and the corruption of public officials by journalists.”