Jibes against Rebekah Brooks survive her alleged order to comb the final edition for hidden messages

This article is more than 9 years old

This article is more than 9 years old

If the staff at the News of the World felt bitter towards the woman who kept her job when they lost theirs, it seems they found an unlikely outlet for their anger.

It was not until page 47 of the final edition that a series of scarcely concealed digs appeared under the guise of crossword clues and answers.

The clues for the quickie and cryptic crossword included "woman stares wildly at calamity", "catastrophe", "stink" and "criminal enterprise", seemingly a thinly veiled reference to Rebekah Brooks and the phone hacking scandal. Answers included "deplored", "stench", "disaster", "menace", "racket", "desist" and "tart".

The word "Brook" also appeared as a clue in the quickie puzzle, another possible reference to the News International chief executive,

Brooks was said to have ordered two senior figures at the company to search the paper for hidden messages from disgruntled staff but it appears they overlooked the crossword.

Other clues in the cryptic puzzle include "string of recordings", "mix in prison" and "will fear new security measure".

The answer "firewall" is possibly a reference to staff being unable to use the internet following the announcement of the paper's closure.

The failure to spot the jibes may have brought a small amount of joy to an otherwise dejected staff.