FORMER hotshot editor
Rebekah Brooks has drawn Prime Minister David Cameron closer into Britain's
tabloid phone hacking scandal, saying he had offered her some support after the
uproar over illegal journalistic practices forced her to quit.
Brooks, who resigned in July
as chief executive of News International, Rupert Murdoch's British newspaper
division, detailed her close friendships with Cameron, former Prime Minister
Tony Blair and their families, in testimony to the country's inquiry into media
ethics.
In six hours of questioning
on Friday, Brooks listed Christmas parties, private dinners and hotel lunches
she shared with the country's most powerful political leaders.
She also acknowledged that
she used her access to lobby the British government over a planned News Corp
takeover deal that would have netted Murdoch's media empire a lucrative
satellite broadcaster.
The 43-year-old, a former
editor of two Murdoch tabloids - The Sun and the now-defunct News of The World
- has twice been arrested and questioned by police about illegal eavesdropping
and obstruction of justice.
She has not been charged
with any offence, but is currently on bail pending further investigations - so
the inquiry lawyer did not question her directly about phone hacking allegations.
(Agencies)
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