Celebrities settle hacking claims

Dozens of celebrities and politicians, including Jude Law and Lord Prescott, have now settled damages claims over the News of the World phone-hacking scandal, the High Court has heard.

Shaun Russell, whose wife and daughter were killed in Kent in 1996, and Sara Payne, the mother of murdered schoolgirl Sarah, are also among 36 claimants who have reached settlements.

Details of some of the deals have been given in court.

Actress and designer Sadie Frost has received £50,000 in damages. Labour MP Chris Bryant received £30,000. Footballer Ashley Cole has also received damages but the figure was not disclosed.

The deals mean that 36 damages claims being brought against News International subsidiary News Group Newspapers (NGN), publisher of the now-defunct News of the World, have been settled.

But Mark Thomson, of law firm Atkins Thomson, who represents some of the claimants, said others would press ahead with a trial scheduled for next month.

Actor Jude Law is among those who have settled


damages claims over the phone hacking scandal

Others whose settlements were confirmed include former cavalry officer James Hewitt, who had an affair with Diana, Princess of Wales, former MP George Galloway, Welsh rugby star Gavin Henson, singer Dannii Minogue, Calum Best, the son of George Best, and Meg Matthews, the ex-wife of former Oasis guitarist Noel Gallagher.

Mr Thomson said: "All of the claimants have been extremely brave to take on and succeed against a massive and influential multinational media organisation.

"They can take the credit for triggering the new police investigation, the parliamentary inquiries and the Leveson Inquiry. They should be very pleased with what they have achieved.

"A number of claimants are still pursuing the matter to trial and, as a result, NGN will continue to disclose further information and evidence."

Chris Bryant (MP) – £30,000 plus costs

Ashley Cole (footballer) – unknown

Sadie Frost (designer) – £50,000 plus costs

Lisa Gower (former partner of Steve Coogan) – £30,000 plus costs

HJK (anonymous member of the public) – £60,000 plus costs

Joan Hammell (former aide to John Prescott) – £40,000 plus costs

Gavin Henson (rugby player) – £40,000 plus costs

Ben Jackson (assistant to Jude Law) – £40,000 plus costs

Jude Law (actor) – £130,000 plus costs.

Denis MacShane (MP) – £32,500 plus costs

Ciara Parkes (PR to Jude Law) – £35,000 plus costs

Guy Pelly (friend of Prince Harry's) – £40,000 plus costs

John Prescott (former deputy prime minister) – £40,000 plus costs

Tom Rowland (journalist) – £25,000 plus costs

Graham Shear (footballers' lawyer) – £25,000 plus costs

Christopher Shipman (son of Harold Shipman) – "substantial damages" plus costs

Joan Smith (former partner of Denis Mac Shane) – £27,500 plus costs

Claire Ward (former MP) "substantial" plus costs.

Total declared damages: £645,000.


©Press Association 2012

Politicians and police to blame for hacking - Hislop

LONDON (Reuters) - A respected editor laid the blame for the country's phone-hacking scandal at the door of politicians and police on Tuesday, and said journalists did not need new rules but merely to observe existing ones.

Ian Hislop, editor of the satirical and investigative Private Eye magazine told a government-ordered inquiry into press standards that legislation was not needed because many of the tricks exposed by the hacking scandal were already illegal.

Hislop was appearing at the Leveson inquiry along with editors from the Times, Sunday Times and Guardian to urge the presiding judge to protect the country's cherished free press and show caution when considering new legislation.

"Most of the heinous crimes that came up and have made such a splash in front of this inquiry have already been illegal," he said. "Contempt of court is illegal, phone-tapping is illegal, policemen taking money is illegal. All of these things don't need a code, we already have laws for them.

"The fact that these laws were not rigorously enforced is again due to the failure of the police, the interaction of the police and News International -- and let's be honest about this, the fact that our politicians have been very, very involved in ways that I think are not sensible with senior News International people."

Ian Hislop blamed the police and politicians for the phone hacking scandal.

The Leveson Inquiry was ordered by Prime Minister David Cameron last year at the height of the phone-hacking scandal at the News of the World that prompted Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. to close the best-selling Sunday tabloid.

The scandal, which dominated the news agenda for weeks last year, drew attention to the level of influence held by editors and executives at News International, the British newspaper arm of News Corp, and other newspapers in the country.

It embarrassed politicians for their close ties with newspaper executives and also the police, who repeatedly failed to investigate allegations of illegal phone hacking at the News of the World.

Hislop said the conduct of the politicians, who socialised with newspaper executives and employed former editors, gave the impression to many that the industry was untouchable.

"If the prime minister appoints an ex-News of the World editor to be his communications director, you must think 'we're top of the pile, what could stop us?'" he suggested, adding that the current and former prime ministers should appear before the inquiry to explain their conduct.

Tom Mockridge, the head of News International who took over when a host of Murdoch executives departed last year, also urged the inquiry to protect the independent nature of Britain's press regulation, which he said was respected around the world.

"In this society, where there is not a constitutional guarantee of free speech, for the government to make laws which intervene in the press would contravene that basic principle and undermine the principle of a free press," he said.

He added that he had tightened the rules and governance at the company's newspapers since arriving last year.

Judge Leveson is using the lengthy investigation to consider new rules for the country's press which could range from statutory regulation to the more lenient and current system of self-regulation.

Most journalists and executives appearing before the inquiry have accepted that the current rules need to be changed to give more credibility and power to the body that oversees the industry.

All have been opposed to a system where the government regulates the press or has any control over its output.

"I think if the state regulates the press, the press no longer regulates the state," Hislop said.

(Reporting by Kate Holton; Editing by Steve Addison)
©Reuters