Brooks may be in line for prosecution

Rebekah BROOKS is believed to be among 11 suspects in the phone-hacking scandal facing criminal charges after police sent their first set of files to prosecutors.
By The Newsroom
Published 19th Apr 2012, 07:00 BST

Sources said the former News International chief executive is listed with three other journalists, one police officer and six others in documents handed to the director of public prosecutions.

Keir Starmer QC must now decide whether to go ahead with prosecutions based on police evidence handed to him within the last fortnight.

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Mr Starmer said he was facing “very difficult and sensitive decisions” as he predicted more cases were coming his way.

The DPP refused to formally identify who faced charges, saying only that not everyone in the files had been formally arrested.

But sources said details of the files included Mrs Brooks and six other members of the public with relation to alleged offences of perverting the course of justice.

Also thought to be in the files are details of a journalist, understood to be former News of the World chief reporter Neville Thurlbeck, accused of witness intimidation and harassment.

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The announcement comes just days before Mrs Brooks and her racehorse trainer husband Charlie answer bail relating to allegations of perverting the course of justice.

Mr Starmer said cases were coming and a decision could not be ducked.