London - Former News of the World editor Rebekah Brooks has told jurors at the phone-hacking trial in London that she did not know about a substantial contract for a private investigator.
Brooks said Friday she was unaware of a contract for her newspaper to pay 92 000 pounds a year to private investigator Glenn Mulcaire, even though an expense that large should have required her approval.
Mulcaire has pleaded guilty to phone hacking while working for the now-defunct tabloid, which was part of Rupert Murdoch's newspaper empire.
The 45-year-old Brooks faces one charge of conspiring to commit misconduct in a public office, as well as charges of conspiring to hack phones and obstruct police.
Her husband is also on trial, as is Andy Coulson, another former Murdoch executive.
Sapa-AP