Rebekah Brooks: ‘she’s always been able to get what she wants from people’

From charming the powerful to threatening foes, the ex-News International chief is adored and loathed in equal measure

When Elisabeth Murdoch celebrated her 40th birthday in the summer of 2008, Rebekah Brooks produced a 32-page souvenir edition of the Sun for the guests at her party with joke stories, a spoof agony aunt column and a Page 3 picture with Elisabeth’s head grafted on to the body of a naked woman (headline: “Lizzie’s the breast”).

Among the parody, Brooks had also secured personal messages from the then prime minister, Gordon Brown; his predecessor, Tony Blair; and his eventual successor, David Cameron; as well as two serving cabinet ministers, John Reid and Tessa Jowell. All were effusive, if not sycophantic. “Liz is fabulous, fantastic and funny” was Blair’s opening line.

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