Murdoch tabloid phone-hacking trial begins in London

The trial of Rupert Murdoch's former United Kingdom newspaper chief and Prime Minister David Cameron's onetime media handler began Monday in one of the U.K.’s highest-profile criminal cases in years. The outcome could lead to pressure to regulate the press and could do further damage to Murdoch’s shaken media empire.

Rebekah Brooks and Andy Coulson, both 45, former editors of Murdoch's now defunct News of the World tabloid, are accused of conspiring to illegally access voice-mail messages on mobile phones belonging to politicians, celebrities, crime victims and ordinary people to secure exclusive stories. Coulson was Cameron's communications chief until 2011. 

They have denied all charges.

Throngs of international media surrounded the court in London where the trial will take place, snapping photos of the defendants as they arrived.

The trial, unfolding in a plain, starkly lit room at London's Central Criminal Court, should provide high drama for media watchers — and an unwelcome reminder for Murdoch and Cameron of the two-year-old scandal that continues to tarnish U.K. media, politicians and police.

Joining Brooks and Coulson in court are others accused of some of the charges, including Stuart Kuttner, the longtime former managing editor of News of the World; Ian Edmondson, the tabloid's former news editor; Clive Goodman, a former royals editor at News of the World; Cheryl Carter, Brooks' personal assistant; Brooks' husband, Charles Brooks, a racehorse trainer; and Mark Hanna, News International's head of security.

Jury selection began Monday for the six-month trial, with prosecutors expected to outline the case against the accused on Tuesday.

Dozens of other journalists are due to go on trial next year after the conclusion of this case, and police are considering bringing corporate charges against Murdoch's U.K. newspaper business.

Earlier this month, Murdoch wrote on his Twitter account about the upcoming trial, "Remember, everyone innocent until proven guilty, entitled to fair trial in most countries."

Coulson and Rebekah Brooks have become the faces of the scandal, though neither has been convicted of wrongdoing.

He was the elusive figure — rarely photographed — behind Cameron's canny media strategy. She exchanged text messages with her friend and neighbor Cameron while overseeing Murdoch's politically powerful U.K. newspapers.

Brooks and Coulson are charged with conspiracy to intercept communications — phone hacking — and conspiracy to commit misconduct in a public office, which covers bribing officials such as police and prison guards. The other former News of the World journalists face related charges.

Rebekah Brooks, Charles Brooks, Carter and Hanna are accused of conspiring to pervert the course of justice by removing material from the company archive and withholding computers and documents from police.

The charges stem from the scandal that erupted in 2011 when it was revealed that journalists at News of the World eavesdropped on the cellphone voice-mail messages of celebrities, politicians, crime victims and others in the public eye.

This led Murdoch to close News of the World and triggered police investigations into phone hacking, computer hacking and the bribery of officials, which have expanded to take in other newspapers.

More than 30 people have been charged, including senior journalists and editors from News of the World and its sister paper, The Sun. 

This will be a long and complex trial, expected to last up to five months. The first step will be selecting a jury; the prosecution is expected to begin outlining its case later in the week.

Judge John Saunders will ask jurors to ignore everything they may have heard about the defendants and focus on the evidence. The dozens of journalists on hand face restrictions, including a ban on tweeting from court, as the judge attempts to rein in speculation and comment.

The central questions are what did Brooks and Coulson know, and how widespread were illegal practices when they ran the newspaper? Brooks edited the paper from 2000 to 2003; in 2002 it hacked the mobile-phone voice mails of a murdered 13-year-old, Milly Dowler, while police were searching for her. Brooks denies knowing about any of the hacking. Coulson was in charge from 2003 to 2007.

The maximum sentence for phone hacking is two years in jail. The other charges carry a maximum life sentence, although the average term imposed is much shorter.

The trial is not likely to put an end to the saga. The hacking scandal convinced many politicians and members of the public that the U.K.’s press was out of control. Cameron ordered a judge-led inquiry into media ethics, which recommended an independent press regulator be set up with state backing. Many editors and journalists fear that could lead to state regulation, but they may find it hard to resist amid a new blare of publicity about media misdeeds.

Revelations at the trial could heap new pressure on Murdoch, who remains atop his now fractured media empire. The scandal led him to shut down his best-selling newspaper, pay millions to settle lawsuits from hacking victims and split his News Corp. into two businesses: a publishing company and a media and entertainment group.

Al Jazeera and wire services