Rebekah Brooks' could not be shown to have authorised a single payment to Glenn Mulcaire during her editorship of the News of the World, it was claimed at the Old Bailey.
The name of the private investigator, who was paid £1,769 a week – £92,000-a-year – did not appear on a list of her authorised payments draw from payment records, the phone-hacking trial was told.
The list had been drawn up by Michael Gill, group financial controller at News UK, formerly News International, the court was told.
Jonathan Laidlaw, QC, counsel for Brooks asked Gill: "I think what we asked you to do was search for any payments authorised by Mrs Brooks during her editorship, and this is the extent of those payments, is it?"
Gill replied: "That's correct."
Among them were the expenses claims of staff reporting directly to her, including her then deputy Andy Coulson, and managing editor Stuart Kuttner, the jury heard.
Referring to the contributors payments, Laidlaw said: "She never authorised a payment to Glenn Mulcaire."
"That's correct," replied Gill.
"Either in his name or any of the names of the companies by which he was paid. Not a single one authorised by Mrs Brooks," continued Laidlaw.
The jury was shown a detailed list of payment requests made at the News of the World for April 2002, which, said Laidlaw, was "illustrative" and "not an unusual month".
"We have a hundred pages, each page containing about 20 to 30 separate requests for payment?" said Laidlaw.
"Slightly more," replied Gill.
They ranged from tiny sums to thousands of pounds, added Laidlaw. "Within which we can see the four payments for this month to Glenn Mulcaire's company."
"Four payments out of, I don't want to exaggerate, but many hundreds of payments for that month," asked Laidlaw,
"That's correct," said Gill.
The document was "illustrative" of the number of payment requests processed each month, said Laidlaw.
The weekly £1,769 payment to Mulcaire was logged underneath the name of his company Nine Consultancy News & PR.
Andrew Edis, prosecuting, queried why the "actual payments" were made to Nine Consultancy when Mulcaire's contract with the News of the World, which was shown to the jury, was made out to Euro Research and Information Limited
Brooks, editor of the News of the World from May 2000 until January 2003, Coulson, who replaced her as editor, and Kuttner were "Category three" approvers – allowed to authorise payments of up to £50,000, the court heard.
Gill agreed that desk editors were not on the approvers list from 2002 until 2005 when Ian Edmondson and James Weatherup were added to approve payments of up to £2,000. Edis asked: "Before that, were the desk editors allowed to authorise?"
Gill replied: "They weren't on the approvers list then, no."
The total annual amount of a contract was taken into account when deciding who should be the approver .
Judge Justice Saunders asked if Mulcaire was "getting 100,000, authorisation would need to come from somebody who had authority up to and beyond that figure?"
"It should do," replied Gill.
Examining Mulcaire's 12-month contract, drawn up in 2001, Edis asked if it would have been approved.
"It should have legal approval as it is a contract and editorial approval for total amount, because you would always look to have approval of the total value of the contract," Gill said.
The jury heard News of the World contributors were paid in cash, or electronic bank transfer or by cheque. Some cash payments to remote locations outside of the News of the World office were arranged through Thomas Cook or Western Union.
Brooks, Coulson, Kuttner and Edmondson are charged with conspiring to intercept mobile phone voicemail messages. They deny the charge. Mulcaire and Weatherup have pleaded guilty to the same charge.
The trial continues.
