Rebekah Brooks Trial

[FrankelInFoal]

I'm no fan of Rebekah Brooks but having watched the news reporting from court today I'm finding myself feeling incredibly sorry for her.

Apparently today she was questioned about her fertility issues. I mean what the hell does that have to do with phone hacking? According to the report I watched she was asked about her problems conceiving with Ross Kemp which prompted her to ask for a break in proceedings and she left the room in tears. Later she was questioned about the surrogacy that she and her current husband had gone through to get their daughter.

Seriously, how is that relevant/appropriate?! If she was a man I sincerely doubt she'd have been asked about such a private matter.

[MauriceMinor]

Oh, I didn't even realise these questions were from her own counsel - ha! She's PR to the core isn't she? Using her fertility "battle" to get the jury on side - emotional recess for dramatic effect.

God she's awful.

[Coumarin]

Biological reasons are relevant to a surrogacy if it was her own eggs used to create the embryo. She will have had to go through the ivf process to grow her own eggs and those eggs would have had to have been good enough to create a viable embryo. Her age is as relevant to the pregnancy as the surrogate.

I have no opinion to share as yet on the case but thought I should clarify that.

[ComposHat]

Apologies if that was the case. cou I assumed it was old school surrogacy arrangement.

Either way, I still think the timing is fishy.

[Fozzleyplum]

I'm not suggesting that she wasn't genuinely upset - but she and her barrister will have known that leading that evidence was going to reduce her to a state.

[ComposHat]

chipped aren't we getting ahead of ourselves a bit, she is still on trial and the jury haven't finished hearing the evidence, let alone considered a verdict.

I don't like Brooks, I don't like the paper she worked for, or her boss. As much as I would like to see her locked up, I would however suspend judgement until all the evidence has been heard.

[propertyNIGHTmareBEFOREXMAS]

Hold judgment on the trial outcome but we can still acknowledge that her paper trawled over the detail of private lives and made them public. The same is now happening to her.

[nennypops]

My main point stands though, why is it that it's ok to drag these sorts of issues up for a woman, but never a man?

Because in this case the woman concerned fully sanctioned it. I suspect that if a man was running a defence that his fertility problems were such that he had no idea what was going on in the office he was being paid a fortune to run, then those issues would be "dragged up" with equal relish.

[VestaCurry]

Do not feel remotely sorry for her on this. All part of a strategy carefully agreed with her legal team beforehand.

[eeetheygrowupsofast]

I think the latest stuff about Sophie Wessex is likely to get her off - she has an email that she sent to her staff afterwards saying they must always stay within the law whatever story they are working on.

Also the email she (almost) sent to her repulsive lovely Andy Coulson does seem to imply that a lot of important matters were dealt with soley by heads of department.

Do I think she's innocent? No. Do I think she'll walk? Yes.

[eeetheygrowupsofast]

Oops her lover, not her lovely! What a terribly typo that was

[eeetheygrowupsofast]

Arrgh terrible - clearly much more coffee required

[cory]

"My main point stands though, why is it that it's ok to drag these sorts of issues up for a woman, but never a man?"

It isn't ok. The judge should have called the RB side on it and pointed out to the jury that her fertility issues have absolutely diddly squat to do with whether she has committed the offences she is accused of.

There is no reason a man wouldn't be allowed to instruct his defence to claim that his fertility issues clouded his judgment. The only reason that doesn't happen is that no man would expect it to help him.

Unfortunately that does show something about the way society views women and men. But nobody forced RB to exploit that.

[cory]

I suppose it might depend slightly on what work you do. If you are the vicar relaxing on the steps of the parish church or a teacher taking her lunch break in the playground, then you might actually be expected to project a certain image, even if you are technically on break.

[Sixweekstowait]

I doubt very much that a judge would call on these issues being explored as part of a defence strategy - prosecution case maybe. And referring back to my earlier c

[Sixweekstowait]

FFS - why does that keep happening? My earlier comment re her surrogacy - my opinion if her is do low that I wouldn't even believe shed had IVF unless I'd hacked her phone seen her medical records and been or want at the procedure

[Sixweekstowait]

Not or want but present - not doing well this morning - dd in hospital being induced - this is true and not a defence for IT illiteracy

[cory]

whoops, posted on wrong thread there

[eeetheygrowupsofast]

Ha Bourdic, glad it's not just me being a fat fingered wally. Hope your dd is ok.

It's very hard, if not impossible, to have a sensible debate about whether there is misogynistic opinions/reporting in regard to Brooks because she is clearly so utterly devoid of a moral compass. So, the derision and disapproval is legitimate and pretty much universal. If the case was more controversial (say in the case of 'Foxy Knoxy' ) and up in the air it would be easier to debate.

[Ubik1]

as another tabloid editor said: 'you dance with the devil, you're going to get pricked by his horns.'

It's the game she's in.

I am glad to see those at the top having to answer for all this instead of some lowly reporter. Usually they get away with it - not this time.

Was at Tony Blair advising some 'Hutton style' enquiry into all this in which she would apparently be exonerated.

[Lighthousekeeping]

My friend worked with her years ago. He said she was one of the nicest people he's ever met . Especially in that world. It's a shame then how it all went wrong for her.

[hackmum]

Composhat: "She and Coulson are wankstains on the kleenex of humanity."

I am so going to use this and pass it off as my own.

[eeetheygrowupsofast]

Ask Millie Dowler's parents how they feel about one guy who once worked with her saying she was nice. Lots of people who have said and done awful things can on most occassions behave like normal, reasonable people.

[SauceForTheGander]

I don't feel remotely sorry for her. I dislike her even more now she's throwing in the tears and pain. The only gendered issue here is she's now trying to potray herself as a victim.

She's using her IVF treatment as defense for not knowing what Mulcaire was being paid £96k for.

Go look at the video evidence of her husband trying to dispose of evidence. She smashed up her iPad - apparently - and allegedly got her PA to destroy evidence. It's a big web of lies.

I hope she enjoys the same respect and privacy as she showed the many people who featured on her front pages.

[Lighthousekeeping]

I'm not defending her just thinking how could she have gone so wrong. Was it power ? Greed? Ambition? All of ot probably.

[SauceForTheGander]

Just list all the 7 deadlies I expect!