UK: PM's ex-aide, others face bribery charges LONDON - Officials have charged the British prime minister's former media aide and the ex-chief of Rupert Murdoch's News International with bribery offenses. Britain's Crown Prosecution Service said Tuesday that Andy Coulson and Rebekah Brooks were among four people being charged with conspiracy to commit misconduct in public office. The charges stem from the phone hacking scandal that erupted last year at Murdoch's News of the World tabloid, which both Brooks and Coulson used to edit. The tabloid was closed down after it became clear that journalists at the Sunday paper routinely used bribery and other illegal methods to get scoops.