Rebekah Brooks will return to her old job running Rupert Murdoch’s British newspapers, one year after she was cleared of criminal wrongdoing in one of the biggest media and political scandals to hit the country.

Brooks, who worked her way up from the lowest rung on a newsroom ladder to become a Murdoch protege and one of the most influential people in Britain, will resume oversight of the Sun and Times of London papers on Monday in a remarkable comeback.

A close friend to the last three British prime ministers, Brooks quit in 2011 after the News of the World tabloid she had once edited admitted hacking into thousands of phones to generate stories, including the phone of a murdered schoolgirl.

The admission sparked an uproar that engulfed Murdoch’s media empire, forcing the closure of the 168-year-old tabloid and a televised grilling in parliament of the Australian-born tycoon and his son James, who apologised.

A year-long public inquiry also exposed the close ties between senior News Corp executives, the police and leading politicians, with many apologising for failing to hold each other to account.

“I am delighted to return to News UK,” said Brooks. “It is a privilege to be back amongst the most talented journalists and executives in the business.”

Eight-month trial

Brooks was found not guilty of conspiring to hack into phones, conspiring to bribe public officials for stories and conspiring to pervert the course of justice following an eight-month trial which itself then became front-page news. – (Reuters)