Hugh Grant has settled his privacy case against the author of The Sun, Rupert Murdoch’s News Group Newspapers.
As reported by the BBC, Grant reached a settlement on Wednesday regarding allegations of illegal data collection in opposition to NGN. He claimed that Solar had hired private investigators to explore his phone in 2011. In May 2023, it was ruled that Grant’s case was eligible to go to trial, barring the phone hacking charges. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
Grant posted an extended thread on X, formerly known as Twitterafter announcing the deal, saying he refuses to “let this be hush money.”
“The Intelligence Group is claiming that they are completely harmless in relation to the things I accused Solar of doing – cell phone hacking, illegal data collection, land line tapping, breaking into my apartment and workplace, tapping my car, illegal reporting of medical services given, lies, perjury and destruction of evidence,” Grant wrote. “As is common with completely harmless people, they are offering me an unlimited amount of money to keep this matter out of court. I don’t want to settle for this money or settle. I would like to see all the allegations they deny examined in court. But the rules on civil litigation mean that if I proceed to trial and the court awards me damages that are even a penny less than the settlement offer, I must pay both parties’ legal prices.”
Grant continued: “My lawyers told me that this is exactly what would certainly happen here. Rupert Murdoch’s lawyers are very expensive. Therefore, even if all the allegations are confirmed in court, I will still be responsible for something approaching £10 million in costs. I’m afraid I’m running away from that fence. Rupert Murdoch has spent more than £1 billion on damages to claimants and prosecutions of lawyers, resolving more than 15,000 complaints this way. He seems remarkably determined that there should be no judgment on the information. Murdoch deal money stinks and I refuse to allow this to be hush money. I have spent the better part of 12 years fighting for a free press that does not distort reality, abuse atypical members of the public or hold elected representatives to ransom in pursuit of private revenue and political power from newspaper barons.
Grant said the settlement money would be “repurposed by groups like Hacked Off in the general campaign to highlight the worst excesses of our oligarch-owned press.” Hacked Off is Grant’s group created in 2011 to advocate for a “free and responsible press for the general public,” according to its website.
NGN did not respond instantly Selectionobservation request.
Prince Harry also sued NGN over similar allegations, and his case was allowed to proceed to a trial in July 2023. The royal recently settled his phone hacking case against British tabloid The Mirror.
Grant, the star of iconic British films such as “Love Actually” and “Notting Hill,” had previously sued NGN over articles published in The News of the World, a now-defunct tabloid. That case was resolved in 2012.
NGN previously denied Grant’s allegations of illegal data collection. A company spokesperson said Selection in May 2023: “Information Group Newspapers is pleased that, following our statement, the High Court has ruled that Mr Grant is prohibited by law from bringing a phone hacking claim against The Sun. The remainder of his claim, which was announced following an announcement made by Mr. Gavin Burrows in 2021, has been allowed to proceed to trial. NGN vehemently denies the numerous historical allegations of illegal data collection contained in what remains of Mr.
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