Before Rebekah Brooks was arrested last year over her role in the News Corp. phone-hacking scandal, she staved off a police threat of obstruction charges related to the company unit she headed, according to two people familiar with the matter.
Based on a perceived lack of cooperation last April, Scotland Yard officials warned they would arrest Ian Burton, the lawyer Brooks retained to handle all police interactions with her unit, News International. Brooks, then the unit’s chief executive, defused the threat by sending two emissaries to Sue Akers, the director in charge of the police probe. They assured Akers the company would cooperate fully, the people said.
