Some 44 celebrities and other figures have settled their phone-hacking claims against Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN).
More than 100 are believed to have sued the paper over interception of phone messages which a judge described as being on “a very large scale” at the Mirror titles.
Lord Jeffrey Archer and Dame Mary Archer, former footballer Kevin Keegan, former Home Secretary Charles Clarke and actress Patsy Kensit were among the well-known names whose cases were resolved on Tuesday by the payment of undisclosed damages and an apology.
They were in a long list of individuals who were the subject of agreed statements read out to Mr Justice Mann at London’s High Court.
It is understood that some of the settlements exceed the £260,250 record damages awarded to actress and businesswoman Sadie Frost following a High Court trial in 2015.
David Sherborne, for Clarke, said the activities of MGN in his case had caused “enormous stress” for him and his family.
It caused them to “drastically adapt” their way of life, he told the judge.
He received a “sincere apology” and undisclosed damages from MGN.
In the case of Keegan, the judge heard that MGN had agreed to pay him compensation and to join in a statement to apologise to him for the misuse of his private information.
After details of the case were given in court, Keegan’s solicitor, John Newell, said in a statement: “Discovering that his private communications with his family, friends and associates had been unlawfully accessed was a devastating intrusion.”
Newell said: “When Kevin was contacted by the Met Police and informed that his mobile phone had been routinely hacked and that his personal information had been obtained unlawfully, he was shocked and appalled.”
He said the “full extent of the hacking and the impact that this has had on Kevin’s personal and professional relationships may never be known”.
Newell added: “But Kevin is pleased that Mirror Group have acknowledged their wrongdoing and publicly apologised. He feels vindicated and believes that justice has been done.”
Solicitor Gerald Shamash told the court that the misuse of their private information was extremely damaging to Lord Jeffrey Archer and Dame Mary Archer.
He said that MGN accepted that its activities caused “significant damage and distress” to them and members of their family.
Apart from the payment of damages, MGN offered its “sincere apologies”.
The judge heard that MGN had paid Kensit a “substantial sum by way of damages to compensate her for the actions which they have accepted and acknowledged should never have happened”.
Her solicitor Callum Galbraith told Mr Justice Mann: “MGN’s actions were wrong and caused unnecessary distress and tension at already difficult times for the claimant, such as the breakdown of her and Liam Gallagher’s marriage, the cancellation of her wedding to Jeremy Healy, and health scares suffered by her and her young son.”
Three Coronation Street actors Tina O’Brien, Ryan Thomas and Jimmi Harkishin were also among those receiving payouts and apologies today.
Their lawyers Charles Russell Speechlys said in a statement: “Everyone has the right to privacy and confidentiality. Violating that right was simply unacceptable. While our clients have a public profile, their private life is just that – private – and should be respected as such.
“We are pleased that we could assist our clients in resolving their disputes with MGN and that MGN has now offered a public apology to each of our clients for the distress caused to them by hacking into their voicemail messages, obtaining private information about them and using that information.”
Trinity Mirror has estimated that dealing with hacking litigation will cost it more than £50m.
Comment: How publish and be damned took on a new meaning at the Mirror.
All 44 Mirror phone-hacking claimants who have settled their privacy complaints with the publisher:
- Angela Bostock, who was once in a relationship with actor Steve McFadden
- Actor Todd Carty
- Former home secretary Charles Clarke
- Actress Michelle Collins
- Footballer Kevin Keegan
- Broadcaster Grant Stott, brother of TV presenter John Leslie
- Lexia Stott, mother of Grant Stott
- Samantha Thomson, ex-wife of actor John Thomson
- Model Jo Wood, ex-wife of Rolling Stone Ronnie Wood
- Dame Mary Archer
- Lord Jeffrey Archer
- Actor Rajan Harkishindas, better known as Jimmi Harkishin
- Actress Patsy Kensit
- Singer Lisa Moorish
- Actress Tina O’Brien
- Music manager Hillary Shaw
- Footballer Lee Sharpe
- Actor Ryan Thomas
- Claire Heseltine, the wife of actor and comedian Les Dennis
- Actor Bruno Langley
- Actor James Alexandrou
- Talent agent Peter Brooks
- Publicist Regine Moylett
- Actor Ray Panthaki
- Actor James Redmond
- Actor Colin Salmon
- Sports lawyer and former football agent Mel Stein
- Actor Joe Swash
- Actress Gillian Taylforth
- James Moir, better known as comedian Vic Reeves
- Model Nancy Moir, wife of James Moir
- Singer Sophie Ellis-Bextor
- Sheryl Gascoigne, former wife of footballer Paul Gascoigne
- Actress and campaigner Brooke Kinsella
- Interior designer Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen and his wife, Jackie
- Designer Pearl Lowe and her musician husband Danny Goffey
- Actress Louisa Lytton
- Actress Sarah Manners
- Actress Laila Rouass
- Actress Kara Tointon
- Actress Denise Outen, better known as Denise Van Outen
- Actor Danny Young.
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