Day 39, Part 1: Further CCTV footage of Rebekah and Charlie Brooks was shown to the jury at the phone hacking trial as the Crown made its case that they hid evidence from police. The closed circuit pictures captured the events in the basement car park of the Brooks’s London home on the day Mrs Brooks was arrested at Lewisham police station for suspected phone hacking.
CCTV road pictures also showed vehicles driven by the couple’s hired security guards travelling across London to News International’s headquarters at Wapping.
The prosecution claims that Mrs Brooks, her husband and News International’s head of security, Mark Hanna, concealed potential evidence from detectives on the afternoon of Sunday July 17 2011, shortly after the arrest of Mrs Brooks.
Yesterday the court saw footage showing Mr Brooks, dressed in a white shirt and black trousers, enter the basement car park of his flat at Chelsea Harbour just after midday carrying a Jiffy bag and a laptop – and leave empty-handed a few moments later.
Further footage and call and text data was adduced today as evidence that the Brooks’s and Mr Hanna had concocted a plot to remove the laptop and the Jiffy bag from Chelsea Harbour because they knew that once Mrs Brooks had been arrested, police could search their flat.
Mr Hanna and a security guard, Lee Sandell, were pictured arriving at Chelsea Harbour, stopping, and then driving to News International’s headquarters at Wapping.
Later that afternoon, the material was returned to the Brooks’s flat under the guise of a pizza delivery, according to the prosecution.
After leaving the basement car park, a security guard, Daryl Jorsling, texted his colleague Dave Johnson: “Broadsword calling Danny Boy. Pizza delivered and the chicken is in the pot.”
Phone records show that Mr Johnson replied: “Ha! Fuckin amateurs! We should have done a DLB [dead letter box] or brush contact on the riverside! Cheers mate, log in the hors ad “pizza delivery.”
Shortly after she had been released from custody, Mrs Brooks was filmed arriving back at the basement car park at 12.48am on Monday 18 July. She and her husband were seen giving each other a hug.
According to the prosecution, the plot was foiled shortly before 11am when a cleaner noticed a black bag in the car park and gave it to his manager.
CCTV footage showed one of the Brooks’s security guards apparently looking for the bag.
Management at Chelsea Harbour reported its discovery by the cleaner to the police.
Mr Brooks, Mrs Brooks and Mr Hanna deny conspiring to pervert the course of justice. The case continues.
See also
“Phone-hacking trial: The security man, the ‘filth’ and pizzagate“, James Doleman, The Drum
“Phone-hacking trial: Charlie Brooks CCTV released”, BBC News
Reblogged this on Vox Political.
Reblogged this on David Hencke and commented:
You could hardly make up make these accusations. First News International executives are shown to be paranoid about being bugged then the husband of Rebekah Brooks is caught on security cameras with a ” disappearing ” laptop and then there is an alleged plan to remove evidence under the guise of a pizza delivery. And these are our top news executives. Their defence is going to be very interesting!