Ms. Brooks was, until July 15, head of News International, the British branch of Murdoch’s News Corporation. She served as editor-in-chief of News of the World from 2000 to 2003, when some of the phone hacking at the center of the scandal allegedly took place. She denies that she knew the source of her reporters’ information.
Brooks has long been known for the unusual and sometimes questionable lengths she will go to in order to get a scoop, as detailed in a New York Times’ profile of her that was published last week.
Murdoch stood by Brooks throughout much of the News of the World fallout, resisting repeated calls from legislators and others for her removal as well as her earlier offer of resignation. However, he accepted her July 15 resignation as the outlook for News Corp. worsened.
In a statement released following her resignation, Brooks said:
As chief executive of the company, I feel a deep sense of responsibility for the people we have hurt and I want to reiterate how sorry I am for what we now know to have taken place," Brooks said in a statement.
"I have believed that the right and responsible action has been to lead us through the heat of the crisis. However my desire to remain on the bridge has made me a focal point of the debate.
"This is now detracting attention from all our honest endeavours to fix the problems of the past."
Brooks is close to the Murdoch family and, according to The Times, to British Prime Minister David Cameron.
She was arrested and questioned on July 17 in connection with charges of phone hacking and paying police officers for information. She was released on bail several hours later. During her testimony before parliament on July 19, she denied ever having paid money to a police officer and also denied knowing about the hacking of the phone belonging to Millie Dowler, a 13-year-old murder victim.
