Ex-News International chief executive Rebekah Brooks authorised payments to a Ministry of Defence official for details of soldiers killed in action before they were officially released, a court has heard.

The jury at the Old Bailey heard that the ex-Sun and News of the World editor also allegedly authorised journalists to pay a member of the armed forces for a picture of Prince William wearing a bikini.

Prosecutor Andrew Edis QC outlined the details as part of the charges Brooks is facing for allegedly conspiring to commit misconduct in a public office.

The former NI chief executive denies the charges, as well as allegations of phone hacking.

Edis told the jury of nine women and three men that in 2006, while editor of The Sun, Brooks authorised payments to be made to an official who gave details about dead soldiers out before they were officially announced by the MoD.

“It may concern, for example, the death of active servicemen,” he said. “It really matters when it is released and how it was released to other people affected by it.”

The court was told about a series of e-mails to Brooks asking for authorisation for various cash payments, all said to have been okayed by her.

“These are e-mails which reveal what Mrs Brooks knew when she authorised the payments and the fact that she did authorise the payments and we know from the timeline what the payments refer to and the fact that they were made.

“The prosecution suggest that in behaving in that way Mrs Brooks was involved in a conspiracy to commit the criminal offence of misconduct in a public office and that she knew it.”

In June 2006, she was asked to authorise a cash payment of £4,000 for a picture of Prince William, who was at a party dressed as a Bond girl, the court was told.

The court had earlier heard how the News of the World used phone hacking to get stories on the royals, including a claim that Prince Harry had broken rules at Sandhurst by asking an aide for help with an essay.