Brooks: NI acted 'quickly and decisively'

Former News International chief executive Rebekah Brooks today insisted the company acted "quickly and decisively'' in dealing with the phone hacking scandal at the News of the World once it had seen fresh evidence concerning actress Sienna Miller in December 2010.

Giving evidence to the Commons Culture, Media and Sport Committee, Mrs Brooks denied sacking legal expert Tom Crone, saying he left because the News of the World had closed.

Ms Brooks said: ``I think in the main, my use of private investigators while I was editor of the News of the World was purely legitimate and in pursuit in the main, as you know, for the addresses and whereabouts of convicted paedophiles through Sarah's Law.

“And that is my majority use, if not almost exclusive use, of private investigators myself.”

Referring to her comments in 2003 that payments had been made to the police in the past, she said she was referring to a “wide-held belief” that payments had been made in the past, and not to a “widespread practice”.

Ms Brooks said: “I can say that I have never paid a policeman myself. I have never sanctioned, knowingly sanctioned a payment to a police officer.”

She added: “In my experience of dealing with the police, the information they give to newspapers comes free of charge.”

Admitting that “things went badly wrong” at the News of the World, she would not comment on whether claims made by the Daily Mail that it has never published a story that was produced by hacking or blagging were credible.

Ms Brooks said: “You will have seen that, out of all the media groups in this country, that News International has been the one to openly welcome the Prime Minister’s public inquiry into, I think, all Fleet Street practices.”

She also welcomed the idea that journalistic standards should come under scrutiny.

“It is properly right that the code of conduct of journalists and the ethics of journalists are in constant review, because if they’re not, it is the freedoms that this press enjoys which I believe in very strongly, that if there is not a constant view of conduct and ethics, then they are at risk.”

A spokeswoman for Commons Speaker John Bercow said: “The Speaker is very concerned at what has occurred and has asked for the incident to be thoroughly investigated.

“It is wholly unacceptable that a member of the public should treat a witness in this way.”