A year after she was cleared of criminal wrongdoing Brookes, who is a close family friend and confidante of Murdoch, has been reinstated to her position and with even greater responsibilities.

On leaving the role as head of News Corp's British newspaper business, News International, Brooks was paid out about £16 million – made up in part from compensation for what was termed "loss of office" . It is widely speculated that amount also included compensation for the legal fees charged in mounting her defence in an eight-month trial, against charges relating to phone hacking, bribing officials and obstructing police.

She has said she didn't know of phone hacking while she was News of the World editor in 2000-03.

Just as significant as the money that was paid in compensation of 718 civil claims, lawyers' fees and costs associated with the closure of the News of the World was the extent to which it killed News Corp's plans to bid for British satellite giant BSkyB.

In the face of a planned motion in the House of Commons calling on News Corp to abandon the bid, Murdoch acquiesced and in doing so set back the company's global satellite strategy.

Perhaps worst of all was the damaging reputational costs to Murdoch's international media empire.

This extended to Murdoch himself and more particularly his younger son, James, although neither of them was charged.

James Murdoch has since been elevated to the position of chief executive of the main arm of the Murdoch empire, 21st Century Fox.

Murdoch snr suffered the ignominy of running apologises in full-page adverts, saying: "We are sorry for the serious wrongdoing that occurred".

Such was the fallout of the scandal, which reached its nadir when it was revealed the voicemail of 13-year-old murder victim Milly Dowler had been hacked by News of the World.

In a statement on the appointment this week, News Corp made scant reference to the phone hacking affair.

"Rebekah Brooks was chief executive of News International Ltd from 2009 to 2011, during which time there was significant growth in newspaper operating profit, and The Times was a pioneer in paid-for digital subscriptions. Between 2003 and 2009, she was editor of The Sun, and from 2000 to 2003 she served as editor of the News of the World. She started her career at News of the World as a feature writer for the publication's Sunday magazine in 1989.

"While she was at The Sun, the publication grew in circulation, and she supported a number of public campaigns, including Help for Heroes, a charity for soldiers wounded in war that raised tens of millions of pounds. At News of the World, Ms Brooks spearheaded a campaign that led to the introduction of legislation combating child sex offenders known as 'Sarah's Law'. She was unanimously cleared last year by a jury of all charges related to investigations of various UK newspaper groups."

While Murdoch is clearly attempting to put this chapter behind him, the fallout has a long tail. Only last week it was revealed British prosecutors are considering corporate charges against News Corp.

Such a damaging chapter in history would be more than enough for most image-conscious companies to distance themselves from any previous associations.

But the two arms of Murdoch's empire are in many ways run like private family companies rather than publicly traded corporations, with Murdoch's two sons now holding the top executive positions.

It has been speculated that Brooks was reluctant to move back into the position but was ultimately convinced by Murdoch snr.

For Brooks, who was a rising star in the News Corp group until the hacking scandal broke, there will be plenty of business challenges awaiting her on returning to the role.

Revenues at the News Corp British tabloid operations have fallen 25 per cent since the phone-hacking scandal broke – from £654 million in 2011 to £490 million n the financial year ended June 2014. Overall, News Corp's British operations lost £75.5 million before tax last year, partly due to continuing legal costs from the phone-hacking affair.