FURIOUS AT losing their jobs, News of the Worldjournalists exacted some small revenge against News International chief executive Rebekah Brooks in the newspaper's final crossword, with some barbed clues.
The Cryptic Crossword included “string of recordings”, “mix in prison”, “landlady’s character”, “will fear new security measure”, along with “woman stares wildly at calamity” – the latter an apparent reference to Friday’s photographs of Brooks leaving the paper’s Wapping headquarters.
The clues in the simpler Quickie puzzle included “Brook”, “catastrophe”, “criminal enterprise”, “digital protection” and “stink”, while the answers to both crosswords included “disaster”, “stench” and “retainer” – a reference, perhaps, to alleged payments by the paper to police.
Concerned that staff might retaliate before they departed, Brooks had ordered a computer shutdown on Thursday, while USB ports were locked to prevent staff downloading any files.
The embattled chief executive had drafted in senior journalists from the Sunto vet every line of yesterday's final edition to make sure that no libel or mockery was published.
MARK HENNESSY