Rebekah Brooks and former Downing Street spin doctor, Andy Coulson, are among eight people who have finally been officially charged in relation to phone hacking, the British Crown Prosecution Service has today confirmed.

Brooks will herself face two charges – with one relating directly to the accessing of murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler’s phone messages.

Coulson, a former editor of the News Of The World, and who quit as David Cameron’s chief spin doctor in January 2011, is also accused in relation to hacking into the schoolgirl’s phone.

The others to be charged as part of Operation Weeting are Stuart Kuttner, Glenn Mulcaire, Greg Miskiw, Ian Edmondson, Neville Thurlbeck and James Weatherup.

They all face a total of 19 charges.

Thurlbeck, former chief reporter of the News Of The World, faces seven charges in relation to victims including Milly Dowler, Sven-Goran Eriksson, Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt and David Blunkett MP.

Alison Levitt, QC, Principal Legal Adviser to the Director of Public Prosecutions Keir Starmer, disclosed the charges at a press conference earlier today:

All the evidence has been carefully considered. I have concluded that in relation to eight of these thirteen suspects there is sufficient evidence for there to be a realistic prospect of conviction in relation to one or more offences.

Brooks also faces three separate charges of conspiring to pervert the course of justice, while her husband, Charlie Brooks, is charged with one count of the same offence. They are due in court in September on those charges.

It wasn’t announced when the new court appearances will take place.

The Metropolitan Police has said it believes there are 4 775 potential victims of phone hacking, of which 2 615 have been notified.

A total of 24 people including 15 current and former journalists have been arrested since the investigation was launched in January last year.

[Source: Telegraph]