Rebekah Brooks is due to begin her defence on Wednesday as the phone-hacking trial resumes at the Old Bailey.
The trial, which is expected to last another three months, will resume with the prosecution formally wrapping up its case in the morning with the former chief executive of News International the first of seven defendants to go into the witness box.
Brooks, who ran News International until July 2011 when the News of the World closed and had previously edited both the Sunday tabloid and the Sun, is facing five charges.
She denies conspiracy to illegally intercept voicemail messages on mobile phones, conspiracy to commit misconduct in a public office by authorising illegal payments to public officials, and conspiracy to pervert the course of justice.
Once the defence case starts she will have the opportunity to call on her own witnesses to help fight her case.
The long-running trial started on 28 October and centres on allegations of phone hacking at the News of the World started.
The jury has already been told by Mr Justice Saunders, who is presiding over the case, that the "worst-case scenario" is that they will not be asked to consider their verdict until mid-May.
Other defendants include Brooks's husband Charlie, who it is alleged conspired to hide computers behind a bin in the car park at their Chelsea home on the day of her arrest. He denies the charge.
The remaining defendants are all former News International employees, including Andy Coulson, David Cameron's former spin doctor; Stuart Kuttner, the former managing editor of the News of the World; Clive Goodman, the paper's former royal editor; Mark Hanna the head of security for News International; and Cheryl Carter, Brooks's former PA.
All five have denied the charges and will be given an opportunity to go into the witness box to state their case.
