Brooks tells court she was shocked when told of Milly Dowler phone hacking

The 45-year-old told the Old Bailey she only found out on July 4, 2011 that 13-year-old Milly’s messages had been illegally accessed by the newspaper, and had known nothing about the tasking of phone hacker Glenn Mulcaire at the time.

As she returned to the witness box for the third day, the former News International chief executive was questioned about the 2002 story of the missing Surrey schoolgirl, which brought about the Sunday tabloid’s downfall.

Brooks, who denies conspiring to hack phones, conspiring to commit misconduct in public office and conspiring to cover up evidence to pervert the course of justice, revealed that she did not know when she was editing the NotW that hacking was illegal.

She also told the court that hypothetically, if there was a strong enough public interest for a story, she might have authorised hacking while she was editor.

Asked about her reaction when she found out in 2011 that Milly’s phone had been hacked by the NotW when she was at the helm, Brooks, of Churchill, Oxfordshire, said: “Shock, horror, everything.

“I was told that the NotW had asked someone to access Milly Dowler’s phone while she was missing, that they had also deleted her voicemails and for a period of time because of that her parents had been given false hope and thought she was alive.

“I just think anyone would think that that was pretty abhorrent, so my reaction was that. That was what I was told.”

Milly disappeared on March 21, 2002, the court heard, and while still missing, her voicemails were hacked the following month, between April 10 and 12. The court heard that Brooks was on holiday in Dubai with then-partner, actor Ross Kemp from April 7 to 14, leaving her then-deputy editor Andy Coulson, a co-defendant who has also pleaded not guilty, in charge.

Earlier Brooks said she was unaware of a £92,000 a year contract the tabloid had with Mulcaire.

She said although the use of private detectives by Fleet Street at the time was “pretty normal” and she had never heard his name before he was arrested. The case continues.