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The seven-month phone hacking trial is believed to have cost £95million, making it the most expensive criminal case in Britain.
The police investigation and prosecution cost the British public more than £35million but unusually the brunt of the cost of the defence has not been met by the taxpayer.
Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp empire funded huge legal teams for six of the seven defendants, including Rebekah Brooks and Andy Coulson.
It has refused to reveal the legal fees for the trial but figures reported to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in May revealed the investigation into the hacking scandal had cost the firm $535million (£315million).
That figure includes pay-outs to 718 hacking victims to settle civil claims, and legal fees for the civil and criminal cases.
The firm’s costs were previously reported to have reached £600million once redundancy pay-outs and lost revenues from the closure of the News of the World (NOTW) were included and there has been speculation the scandal could end up costing it £1billion once all the trials are completed.
In December 2013 News Group Newspapers, the publishers of the Sun and the Sun on Sunday, reported £87.5million in costs in its annual report for ‘non-operational, one-off charges relating to allegations of voicemail interception and inappropriate payments to public officials and other related matters’.
Within that £50million was spent on legal fees, £10.2million on claimants’ legal fees and £26million on ‘legal and professional fees’ related to the Management and Standards Committee set up in the wake of the hacking scandal.
Brooks’ defence costs alone are likely to have topped £10million. Her acquittal means her legal team could be entitled to ask the Crown Prosecution Service to repay some of the costs of her defence, which would significantly increase the trial’s cost to the public purse.
Her team was originally led by John Kelsey-Fry QC, one of Britain’s best-known criminal lawyers who can command up to £20,000 per day.
He was forced to leave the case before the trial got underway last October and Jonathan Laidlaw QC was brought in to replace him at the last minute.
Bearing the brunt: Costs of six hacking defendants, including former News of the World Editor and Number 10 spin doctor Andy Coulson, left, were shouldered by the News Corp empire of Rupert Murdoch, right
Legal insiders have suggested Mr Laidlaw was unlikely to have accepted the case for less than £6,000 per day, with a hefty ‘upfront’ fee.
Mr Laidlaw had two junior barristers and the trio were instructed by legal firm Kingsley Napley, which was understood to have had five solicitors, four paralegals and partner Angus McBride working full-time on Brooks’ case since January 2013.
Coulson’s barrister Timothy Langdale QC was reputed to have agreed a £750 hourly fee, also paid by News Group.
Trial judge Mr Justice Saunders frequently alluded to the ‘astronomic’ costs of the case and remarked in March: ‘We have probably the most expensive case in the country here.’
The Operation Crevice fertiliser bomb plot trial was previously thought to be the most expensive criminal case in British history.
The year-long trial, which ended in March 2006, involved 18 defendants and cost £50million.
COST OF A SCANDAL: HOW HACKING TRIAL SPIRALLED INTO THE MILLIONS
Dealing with the hacking scandal, including the associated Leveson Inquiry, has cost the public purse as much as £41.1million.
Police investigations
£1.1million - Operation Appleton, which provided support for the Leveson Inquiry
£18.7million - Operation Weeting, which investigated phone hacking£10million - Operation Elveden, which dealt with alleged corrupt payments£2.7million - Operation Tuleta, which investigated computer hacking
£18.7million - Operation Weeting, which investigated phone hacking£10million - Operation Elveden, which dealt with alleged corrupt payments£2.7million - Operation Tuleta, which investigated computer hacking
Total: £32.5million so far
Court costs
£1million - Estimated prosecution costs. Includes Andrew Edis QC (£570 per day), his two juniors, a disclosure specialist, a note-taking barrister and a team of solicitors.
£400,000 - Estimated legal aid for Clive Goodman’s defence, including David Spens QC, his junior and his solicitors.
£1.12million - Operating costs of £7,000 per day at the Old Bailey. For the trial this totalled £945,000, and £175,000 for pre-trial hearings.
£174,000 - The annual salary of the judge, Mr Justice Saunders, who has dedicated the vast majority of his year to the trial and its preparation.
£107,000 - Cost of the jury, including their loss of earnings and food and travel expenses.
£167,000 - Technical costs including media annexe and screens at £6,000 per week, £3,000 for two witnesses via videolink and £4,000 to fly a prosecution witness from Australia
£400,000 - Estimated legal aid for Clive Goodman’s defence, including David Spens QC, his junior and his solicitors.
£1.12million - Operating costs of £7,000 per day at the Old Bailey. For the trial this totalled £945,000, and £175,000 for pre-trial hearings.
£174,000 - The annual salary of the judge, Mr Justice Saunders, who has dedicated the vast majority of his year to the trial and its preparation.
£107,000 - Cost of the jury, including their loss of earnings and food and travel expenses.
£167,000 - Technical costs including media annexe and screens at £6,000 per week, £3,000 for two witnesses via videolink and £4,000 to fly a prosecution witness from Australia
Total: £2.97million
Public Inquiry
Official records show that the Leveson Inquiry into the Culture, Practice and Ethics of the Press cost the public purse a total of £5.4million.
Grand total: £41.1million
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