Rebekah Brooks back in charge of News UK after hacking scandal

The re-emergence of Ms. Brooks in the U.K.is another signal that Rupert Murdoch’s media empire believes it can move beyond the scandal. She was acquitted last summer of all charges, including phone hacking, bribery and two counts of obstruction of justice.

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.

He said the decision is “ludicrously premature” because British prosecutors have said publicly they are mulling corporate charges against News Corp because of its actions.

‘This is a major misjudgement of the public’s mood by a company still ethically out of control, ‘ said joint executive director Evan Harris.

News Corp today confirmed what Deadline reported last week – that Rebekah Brooks is rejoining the company as chief executive of News UK.

Britain’s shadow culture secretary Chris Bryant, a victim of News Of The World phone hacking, said her reappointment was an insult.

Brooks was long considered a Rupert protege and began her career at News of the World in 1989.

The Sun’s editor, David Dinsmore, will become NewsCorp’s chief operating officer.

Four years ago, in the midst of the phone hacking scandal, as Mr. Murdoch faced a wave of revulsion from the British public over his newspapers’ interceptions of private voice mail messages for scoops, he was asked to identify his chief priority in the crisis.

Brooks replaces Mike Darcey, who is leaving the company after three years.

News Corp said Wednesday it has rehired Rebekah Brooks as CEO of its News UK division, a high-ranking role that will have the British journalist call the shots on the media company’s newspaper and digital operations in the United Kingdom.

It said she had been working closely with Storyful, the video news agency owned by News Corp. At News of the World, Ms. Brooks spearheaded a campaign that led to the introduction of legislation combating child sex offenders known as “Sarah’s Law”.

Former News of the World chief reporter Mr Thurlbeck, who was jailed for six months for his role in the hacking, said he was ” delighted” at Ms Brooks’ appointment. He was previously editor of the News Corp. paper, The Sunday.