Advertisement

News

Hugh Grant Receives Substantial Damages In Phone Hacking Settlement

British Actor Hugh Grant has received substantial damages from ‘Mirror Group Newspapers’ after settl...
TodayFM
TodayFM

12:57 PM - 5 Feb 2018



Hugh Grant Receives Substantia...

News

Hugh Grant Receives Substantial Damages In Phone Hacking Settlement

TodayFM
TodayFM

12:57 PM - 5 Feb 2018



British Actor Hugh Grant has received substantial damages from ‘Mirror Group Newspapers’ after settling his claim for phone-hacking.

The 57-year-old was at the High Court in central London to hear his lawyer give details of the settlement which is understood to be a six-figure sum.

Grant has donated the money to the Hacked Off campaign for press reform, of which he is a prominent backer.

He said "This case was not just about what they did to my phone and those close to me."

Grant said he pursued the legal action "to uncover the truth about the nature of high-level concealment at the Mirror Group".

"This litigation has made clear that phone-hacking and other unlawful information-gathering took place on an industrial scale at the Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror and Sunday People," he continued.

"This newspaper group has misled the public and its shareholders for many years; and it has let down its readers and its hard-working journalists.

"The public were not told the truth, the victims were not told the truth, the shareholders were not told the truth and the Leveson Inquiry was not told the truth.

"That is why the second part of the Leveson Inquiry must take place - to get to the truth and discover who broke the law and who lied about it."

His lawyer, Anjlee Saigol, of Taylor Hampton Solicitors, told the judge that Mr Grant brought the action in relation to alleged illegal misuses of his private information "obtained by hacking into his voicemails, as well as blagging and surveillance."

She said that as "part of the settlement," MGN admitted that a number of senior employees "condoned, encouraged or actively turned a blind eye to the widespread culture of unlawful information-gathering activities" at its national newspapers.

She also said the company "actively sought to conceal its wrongdoing from its many victims of intrusion" and admitted intrusions into people's lives could have been prevented.

Alex Wilson, for MGN, said: "MGN accepts that the unlawful interception of voicemail messages and procurement of private information about Mr Grant and others should never have happened.

"MGN acknowledges that was morally wrong and deeply regrets the wrongful acts of its former employees which caused damage and distress to those affected, including Mr Grant."



Read more about

News

You might like