She has spent the past year fighting charges related to the phone-hacking scandal at the News of the World, but before she goes on trial in September Rebekah Brooks is reportedly nipping down to Australia for a break that, as it happens, coincides with one taken by her former boss Rupert Murdoch.
According to the Australian Financial Review, the former News International chief executive and Sun and News of the World editor will be down under over Easter just as Murdoch's staff prepare for a two-week visit from their boss, the man who once said Brooks's future was his priority.
The paper reported that the trip is a "family holiday" – Brooks will touch down with her husband Charlie and their daughter Scarlett later this week with sources telling the paper it was possible she could make time to catch up with senior company figures including Rupert and his son Lachlan, who is based in Australia.
Brooks is currently facing several charges emanating from the phone-hacking scandal that blew up in July 2011: conspiracy to pervert the course of justice, conspiracy to commit misconduct in public office and conspiracy to intercept communications without lawful authority. She denies any wrongdoing.
Her bail conditions do not prevent her travelling and do not prevent her being in touch with his former boss or his family.
Those who know her say she remains close to Murdoch and may even harbour a desire to return to working with him.
When she was first charged last year Brooks and her husband vowed to fight to clear their names. In a statement delivered on the steps of her solicitor's office Brooks declared that "one day the details of this case will emerge and people will see today as nothing more than an expensive sideshow, a waste of public money as a result of an unjust and weak decision".
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