Rebekah Brooks and Andy Coulson erected 'Chinese wall' around their personal lives after David Beckham story clash
Former Sun editor tells phone-hacking trial her relationship with her News of the World rival grew ‘difficult’ as they battled for scoops
Rebekah Brooks and Andy Coulson put up a “Chinese wall” around their professional lives after they clashed over a News of the World exclusive about David Beckham, the Old Bailey central criminal court in London has heard.
Brooks told the phone-hacking trial on Wednesday that her personal relationship with Coulson grew “difficult” and “strange” when she edited the Sun and he was in charge of the rival News of the World.
Last week Brooks told the jury she and Coulson had several periods of “physical intimacy” between 1998 and 2006, but denied there had been an affair lasting six years. Brooks also spoke about the draft of a letter she wrote to Coulson declaring her love for him in February 2004, which was never sent.
Giving evidence from the witness box, Brooks described how friction between the pair escalated in April 2004 when the News of the World broke the story about Beckham’s alleged affair with Rebecca Loos, which left the Sun trailing the Daily Mirror and Daily Mail in following up the scoop.
Brooks said: “The two newspapers were to all intents and purposes rivals and pretty strong rivals.
“I think Andy and I had been very good at keeping that Chinese wall and perhaps on promotions and other things co-operating a bit more than other editors. But certainly keeping a Chinese wall because it was a hostage to fortune discussing what you were working on because he was on a weekly and I on a daily, therefore more opportunity to publish.”
