Hugh Grant Says He Got ‘Enormous Sum’ To Settle Suit Alleging Illegal Snooping By The Sun Tabloid

LONDON — Hugh Grant received “an enormous sum of money” to settle a lawsuit accusing The Sun tabloid of illegally tapping his phone, bugging his car, and getting into his home to snoop on him, the actor revealed Wednesday after the settlement was announced in court.

Grant, along with Prince Harry, sued News Group Newspapers and said he settled reluctantly because he could have faced a large legal fee even if he won at trial. If he had been awarded a cent less than the settlement offer, he would have been required to pay legal fees to both parties.

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Hugh Grant Says He Got ‘Enormous Sum’ To Settle Suit Alleging Illegal Snooping By The Sun Tabloid

“As is common with entirely innocent people, they are offering me an enormous sum of money to keep this matter out of court,” Grant claimed on the social media platform X. “Even if every allegation is proven in court, I would still be liable for approximately 10 million pounds ($12.4 million) in costs.” I’m afraid I’m shy at that fence.”

The settlement sum was not disclosed. NGN said it accepted no wrongdoing and that the settlement was in both parties’ best interests to avoid a costly trial.

Grant and other claimants allege that between 1994 and 2016, NGN, a subsidiary of Rupert Murdoch’s media empire, violated their privacy by hiring private investigators to intercept voicemails, tap phones, bug cars and use deception to access confidential information.

Grant claimed in a witness statement that he could never figure out who broke into his fourth-floor flat in 2011. The door had been pulled from its hinges, and the interior appeared to be a battle scene, but nothing was gone. Two days later, The Sun published a story on the inside and “signs of a domestic row.”

He claimed he was shocked to learn that someone working for The Sun had broken into his house and put a monitoring device on his car.

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Hugh Grant Says He Got ‘Enormous Sum’ To Settle Suit Alleging Illegal Snooping By The Sun Tabloid

Grant, who had already settled a case against Murdoch’s News of the World for hacking his phone, said he would not go lightly.

“Murdoch’s settlement money stinks and I refuse to let this be hush money,” he told reporters. I have spent the best part of 12 years fighting for a free press that does not distort the truth, abuse ordinary members of the public or hold elected (members of Parliament) to ransom in pursuit of newspaper barons’ personal profit and political power.”

Grant stated that he would donate the money to organizations such as Hacked Off, founded after phone hacking disclosures in 2011 brought down News of the World and prompted a government investigation into illegal press practices. Grant serves on the board of a group dedicated to promoting a free and accountable press.

While the now-defunct News of the World has apologized for hacking the phones of celebrities, politicians, and relatives of deceased soldiers and a murdered schoolgirl, The Sun has resolved claims without admitting guilt.

After Grant’s consent to settle his claims, the Duke of Sussex and 41 others are slated to go to trial in the High Court in January.

The settlement occurred after Justice Timothy Fancourt rejected NGN’s bid to dismiss Grant’s claim in May.

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Hugh Grant Says He Got ‘Enormous Sum’ To Settle Suit Alleging Illegal Snooping By The Sun Tabloid

“If true … these allegations would establish very serious, deliberate wrongdoing at NGN, conducted on an institutional basis on a huge scale,” Fancourt wrote. “They would also make a concerted effort to conceal the wrongdoing by concealing and destroying relevant documentary evidence, issuing repeated public denials, lying to regulators and authorities, and threatening those who dared to make allegations or notify intended claims against The Sun.”

SOURCE – (AP)