Phone Hacking: Brooks And Husband In Court

Former News International boss Rebekah Brooks and her husband Charlie have made their first appearance in a crown court on phone-hacking charges.

The couple stood side-by-side in the glass dock with four others, all of them charged with a conspiracy to cover up evidence of phone-hacking.

They spoke only to acknowledge their names, before their lawyers spent 30 minutes discussing the next legal moves.

They will be asked to give pleas - guilty or not guilty - to the charges at another hearing on September 26.

Mrs Brooks, 44, faces three charges of conspiring to pervert the course of justice by removing boxes of material from the News International archive.

The charges allege she tried to hide documents, computers and other material from Scotland Yard detectives investigating phone hacking and corruption of public officials.

Her husband Charlie, 49, a racehorse trainer, faces one similar charge.

Also facing one charge are Mrs Brooks' former PA Cheryl Carter, her ex-chauffeur Paul Edwards, News International's head of security Mark Hanna and security consultant Daryl Jorsling.

All were remanded on bail.