Departing staff at the News of the World appear to have sent a parting message of disgust to former editor Rebekah Brooks in the crossword of the paper’s final edition. Despite orders allegedly given from the top of News International to “ensure there were no libels or any hidden mocking messages of the chief executive”, staff appear to have found a way of mocking Mrs Brooks one last time.
Among the clues in the paper’s Quickie puzzle were “Brook”, “stink”, “catastrophe” and “digital protection”.
The clues for the Cryptic Crossword seemed to cut even closer to the bone, with examples including “criminal enterprise”, “mix in prison”, “string of recordings” and “will fear new security measure”.
The clue for 24 Across – which reads “Woman stares wildly at calamity” – is thought to be a reference to a photograph of Mrs Brooks staring furiously from the window of a car as she left News International’s Wapping Headquarters following the announcement the News of the World was to be shut down. The answer to the clue is not one she would appreciate – “disaster”. Other answers included “stench”, “racket” and “tart”. A source at the News of the World told that Mrs Brooks had ordered two loyal Sun journalists to comb the papers looking for tricks.
“Rebekah tried everything to stop the staff having the last word and she utterly failed. She brought in two very senior Sun journalists to go though every line on every page with a fine tooth comb to ensure there were no libels or any hidden mocking messages of the chief executive. But they failed and we’ve had the last laugh,” a staff member told. Mrs Brooks, a former editor of the News of the World, was met with angry words when she addressed staff on Friday.