Brooks: Coulson was hired due to Osborne
CHANCELLOR George Osborne was behind the hiring of a former News of the World editor as an adviser to David Cameron, it was claimed yesterday.
Testifying before MPs, former News International chief executive Rebekah Brooks swiftly shifted the focus from the News of the World onto the government.
Asked whether she had told Cameron to hire Andy Coulson as his director of communications, she said: “The allegation is I told the Prime Minister to hire Andy Coulson. The idea came from George Osborne.”
It is the first time it has been put on record that Osborne personally headhunted Coulson.
Brooks also denied that she owns a horse or any land jointly with Cameron.
And asked how she could have not known that hacking was behind some of the scoops that NoTW was getting during her editorship, she said: “A news room is based on trust.”