Hugh Grant settles High Court claim against the publisher of The Sun for ‘an enormous sum of money’

Hugh Grant has settled a High Court claim against the publisher of The Sun for ‘an enormous sum of money’.

The Notting Hill actor, 63, had been suing News Group Newspapers (NGN) alongside Prince Harry claiming the newspaper used landline tapping, burglary and ‘blagging’ to obtain confidential information about them. 

NGN strenuously denies the allegations.

Grant, a founding member of the Hacked Off pressure group urging tighter controls on the press, confirmed he had settled out of court but insisted it was not ‘hush money’.

He and Harry’s cases were among more than 40 scheduled to go to trial in January, but today the High Court was told Mr Grant had settled. 

Hugh Grant is pictured outside the High Court in London on April 27 last year

The star of films including Love Actually and Four Weddings and a Funeral later wrote on X, formerly Twitter: ‘I’ve had to settle my claim out of court before it gets to trial…They are offering me an enormous sum of money to keep this matter out of court.’

He said: ‘I don’t want to accept this money or settle’, but added: ‘The rules around 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 would have to pay the legal costs of both sides.’

Mr Grant claimed he could face a legal bill of £10million and said: ‘I’m afraid I am shying at that fence’. 

But he added: ‘Murdoch’s settlement money has a stink and I refuse to let this be hush money.’ 

He pledged to donate the money to continue his 12-year crusade ‘fighting for a free press’.

The Duke of Sussex, who recently vowed to ‘slay dragons’ after winning a case against the Mirror newspapers, is continuing with his claim against The Sun along with dozens of celebrities and former politicians who claim their private information were targeted.

Mr Grant previously brought a lawsuit against NGN in relation to the now-defunct News of the World tabloid which was settled in 2012, a year after the newspaper was shut down by Rupert Murdoch following a public backlash over phone hacking.

NGN has always rejected allegations of any wrongdoing by staff at The Sun, having settled more than 1,300 cases – plus another 300 or so through its own compensation scheme – without making any admission of liability in relation to that paper.

The High Court heard that the legal costs in the present case – which has been running for years and is still months away from a trial – had reached £30million by September 2020.

Anthony Hudson, the KC for the newspaper group, said the litigation had ‘imposed a huge burden on court resources’ and there had been 53 pre-trial hearings so far. He asked the judge, Mr Justice Fancourt, to consider ordering a separate trial before the main trial on whether the claimants had run out of time to pursue their claims.

David Sherborne, for Harry and the other remaining claimants, opposed this by saying it would be ‘highly disruptive and prejudicial’ and ‘makes no sense at all’. 

The judge will rule on the application at a later date.

The Duke of Sussex is pictured outside the High Court in London on March 30 last year 

Last year, Mr Justice Fancourt struck out part of Mr Grant’s case, ruling his claims about phone hacking had been brought years too late. 

Mr Grant was allowed to continue with his claim relating to other allegations of unlawful information gathering.

In a statement, NGN spokesperson said: ‘In 2011, an unreserved apology was made by NGN to victims of voicemail interception by the News of the World.

‘Since then, NGN has been paying financial damages to those with proper claims.

‘As we reach the tail end of litigation, NGN is drawing a line under disputed matters, some of which date back more than 20 years ago. 

‘In some cases, it has made commercial sense for both parties to come to a settlement agreement before trial to bring a resolution to the matter.

‘There are a number of disputed claims still going through the civil courts some of which seek to involve The Sun. The Sun does not accept liability or make any admissions to the allegations.

‘A judge recently ruled that parts of Mr Grant’s claim were out of time and we have reached agreement to settle the remainder of the case. 

‘This has been done without admission of liability. It is in both parties’ financial interests not to progress to a costly trial.’