Rebekah Brooks and husband Charlie appear in court

Former News International chief executive Rebekah Brooks and her racehorse trainer husband Charlie appeared in court today on charges relating to the phone-hacking scandal.

Mrs Brooks, 44, of Churchill, Oxfordshire, and Mr Brooks, 49, were at Southwark Crown Court in London for a 30-minute preliminary hearing.

She faces three charges of conspiring to pervert the course of justice, while her husband is charged with one count of the same offence.

Mrs Brooks, who wore a black dress and black high heels, spoke only to confirm her name.

She sat in the dock beside her husband, who wore a blue suit and pink tie.

The former News of the World editor is accused of removing boxes of material from the News International archive and trying to conceal documents, computers and other material from Operation Weeting, Scotland Yard's inquiry into the phone-hacking scandal.

Also at the court were Mrs Brooks's former personal assistant Cheryl Carter, 48, of Mildmay Road, Chelmsford, Essex; head of security at News International Mark Hanna, 49, of Glynswood Road, Buckingham, Buckinghamshire; Mrs Brooks's chauffeur Paul Edwards, 47, of Victoria Park Square, Bethnal Green, east London; and security consultant Daryl Jorsling, 39, of Vale Road, Aldershot, Hampshire.

They all face a single charge of conspiring to pervert the course of justice.

The judge, Mr Justice Fulford, set a date of September 26 for a plea and case management hearing at the same court.

He extended bail to all six defendants.

Mrs Brooks became editor of the News of the World in 2000 at the age of 31.

In 2003, she became the first woman to edit The Sun and in 2009 was made chief executive at News International. She resigned from that role last July.

PA