Rebekah Brooks' lawyer today contested claims made by the prosecution that she had been in contact with Andy Coulson during the run-up to publication of a story alleged to be based on information hacked from the phone of the murdered schoolgirl, Milly Dowler.

Mrs Brooks was editor of the News of the World, and Mr Coulson her deputy on April 14 2002 when the Murdoch-owned tabloid published a story that contained details which came from the murdered girl's voicemails.

The jury in the hacking trial heard details of a conversation between the NOTW's managing editor, Stuart Kuttner, and Surrey Police, made during the week of the April 14 Dowler story, in which he admitted to the force that the NOTW had gained access to Milly's phone voicemails and recorded them.

Jonathan Laidlaw QC, representing Mrs Brooks, questioned the evidence given to the jury by Detective Sergeant Greg Smith from the specialist unit of Scotland Yard which is investigating phone hacking at Rupert Murdoch's UK print news division.

During cross-examination Mr Laidlaw questioned the timings of the alleged exchange of calls and text messages between the then editor and her deputy. Mr Coulson was editing in the paper's London office, while Mrs Brooks was on holiday in Dubai. There was three hours' difference between the UK and Middle East at that time.

The prosecution claimed there was a substantial increase in communications between the two executives leading up to that Sunday's edition in 2002.

The timings on the police log were initially described as being made at UK times.

However DS Smith admitted to the court that there was a "position of uncertainty" surrounding the claimed times in the police phone logs - and that Mrs Brooks could have been making the calls to London three hours later than the prosecution claimed.

The jury was earlier told that in 2002 the NOTW changed a story about Milly Dowler's disappearance between its first and second editions. The change removed references to a message that the NOTW had taken from the schoolgirl's phone.

Mr Laidlaw highlighted other calls made by Mrs Brooks that week to her then partner, EastEnders actor Ross Kemp, and the agency that represented him. He said the level of the calls was not unusual for an editor who was away on holiday as their paper headed towards deadline.

Mr Coulson, Mrs Brooks and Mr Kuttner, along with five others, face an array of differing changes between them involving conspiracy to phone hack, conspiracy to bribe officials in public office and a conspiracy to pervert the course of justice.

All the accused deny all the charges against them.

The trial is expected to continue till Easter next year.