Brooks 'First Heard Of Milly Claims In Press'

Rebekah Brooks, who was editor of the News Of The World when the paper allegedly hacked Milly Dowler's phone, has said she first heard about the claims two weeks ago.

Speaking at a Commons committee hearing, Mrs Brooks denied any knowledge of the allegations before they appeared in the press.

She was at the helm when the murdered schoolgirl's voicemails were apparently illegally accessed by the tabloid following her abduction in 2002.

Mrs Brooks said she found it "staggering to believe" that anyone at the News of the World (NOTW) could have authorised it.

She said at the time of Milly 's disappearance she believed that the press had acted with "huge caution" and done its best to respect the family's privacy.

Explaining the moment she heard of the claims about Milly's phone, she said: "My instant reaction, like everybody else, was one of shock and disgust."

Mrs Brooks said for "a family who had suffered so much already, these allegations clearly added immeasurably to their suffering".

"The first thing I did was write to Mr and Mrs Dowler with a full apology to say that we would get to the bottom of the allegations."

She added: "The idea that Milly Dowler's phone was accessed by someone being paid by the News Of The World, or even worse authorised by someone at the News Of The World, is as abhorrent to me as it is to everyone in this room."

Police have said there could be almost 4,000 hacking victims.

Mrs Brooks is one of a number of people arrested by officers investigating the claims. She was later released on bail.

Among those who may have had their phones hacked are families of those who died in the 7/7 bombings.

Like her ex-boss, News Corp chairman Rupert Murdoch, and his son James did earlier in the day , Mrs Brooks began her evidence by offering her "personal apology" for what had happened at the NOTW.

"Clearly, what happened at the News Of The World and certainly (with) the allegations of voicemail intercepts of victims of crime is pretty horrific and abhorrent," she said.

Appearing before the Commons Culture committee, Mrs Brooks, who quit as News International chief executive last week , admitted "mistakes were made in the past" but the company had now "acted quickly and decisively".

She said it was only after she saw papers lodged in a civil damages case brought by actress Sienna Miller in 2010 that she understood how serious the situation was.

"We had been told by people at News Of The World at the time - they consistently denied any of these allegations in various internal investigations," she said.

"It was only when we saw the Sienna Miller documentation that we realised the severity of the situation."

She dismissed suggestions that she had advised David Cameron to make ex-NOTW editor Andy Coulson his director of communications after he left the tabloid in 2007.

But she admitted the NOTW "used private detectives like most papers on Fleet Street".

Mrs 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."

She pointed to the example of the paper campaigning against convicted paedophiles through Sarah's Law.

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

Mrs Brooks said: "I have never paid a policeman myself. I have never sanctioned, or knowingly sanctioned, a payment to a police officer."

She also denied having any contact with Glenn Mulcaire, the private investigator who, along with ex-NOTW royal reporter Clive Goodman, was jailed in 2007 over phone hacking.

"I didn't know particularly that Glenn Mulcaire was one of the detectives that was used by the News Of The World," she said.

"In fact, I first heard Glenn Mulcaire's name in 2006."

Ms Brooks said the decision to close down the NOTW was taken because it had lost the trust of its readers.

"Once that trust was broken, we felt that that was the right decision. Of course, it wasn't the right decision for the hundreds of journalists who worked on there, had done nothing wrong and were in no way responsible," she said.

"Every single one of them will be offered a job."

Referring to The Sun, a paper which she also used to edit, she said it "is a very clean ship, a great newsroom".