January 7, 2014

Hacking trial told ‘any old s***’ was sent to the News International archive

News of the World staff sent “any old s**t” to the archives, a court has heard.

Rebekah Brooks’ PA Cheryl Carter told police that she had been phoned by a News International archivist to retrieve several boxes.

Jurors at the phone-hacking trial heard a recorded interview with Carter when police asked her about the missing boxes.

She told officers that she believed the person who called her was Nick Mays.

Carter told police: "I think it was something along the lines of 'are you coming to collect this stuff?'

"We (Carter and a fellow PA) did have a bit of a laugh, saying: 'Where the f**k are we going to put it?!'"

She said the archives were used for temporary storage, as well as for permanent archiving.

She told police: "Excuse my language, but any old s**t you had, you stuffed it down there (the archives)."

Carter said some of the archived belongings included Brooks' notepads, speeches and photographs, which were stored temporarily at the home of Carter's mother and father-in-law before being returned to Brooks a few days later.

The crates of archived material included many notepads from Carter's time as a columnist – describing herself to police as The Sun's beauty editor – as well as a party guest list for Ross Kemp, Brooks' former husband.

The court heard how police who later went to search Brooks' desk at NI did not ask Carter about any of the boxes of files around the chief executive's desk.

Carter told detectives in interview: "The police sealed her (Brooks') office, they knew I was Rebekah's PA.

"Behind me and in front of me was filing, and they would have been able to see it.

"But no-one asked me. They would have been able to go through everything."

All of the defendants deny all of the charges.

The trial continues.