The job of any good defence team is to cast reasonable doubt in the minds of the court as to the guilt of their clients, even if they are in fact guilty. Until now, Charlie Brooks probably thought being called ‘daft’ was an insult, but this assertion is what has saved him from prosecution in connection with his wife’s hacking trial.

Although the prosecution maintained that Mr Brooks hid his large stash of lesbian porn and his laptop as part of a scheme to hide incriminating evidence for his wife, he maintains that he simply did not want police to find it and publicly embarrass his wife with his smut.

Mr Brooks told the jury he ‘incredibly stupidly’ decided to hide a bag containing explicit DVDs and a case with a laptop inside, but claims it was not cover to up a crime.

His defence said he was ‘not academically gifted’ and one friend described how he once downed an entire pint of washing up liquid in a bid to cure a particularly bad hangover – an example of his lack of common sense, his defence team said.

While his lack of common sense is fairly unquestionable, it does not necessarily mean that he was not capable of colluding with his wife’s colleagues (probably much more sensibly minded than him) to cover up evidence that may have incriminated her.

Both Mr. and Mrs. Brooks have been cleared by the court at this stage.

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