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Grant settles hacking claim against Mirror Grant settles hacking claim against the Mirror
(35 minutes later)
Actor Hugh Grant has settled a phone-hacking damages claim against Mirror Group Newspapers at the High Court.Actor Hugh Grant has settled a phone-hacking damages claim against Mirror Group Newspapers at the High Court.
The Press Association says it is understood the star will be paid a six-figure sum, which he will donate to the campaign group Hacked Off.The Press Association says it is understood the star will be paid a six-figure sum, which he will donate to the campaign group Hacked Off.
Grant, 57, appeared at the court in London to hear his lawyer give details of the hacking settlement.Grant, 57, appeared at the court in London to hear his lawyer give details of the hacking settlement.
In 2012 the actor accepted a "substantial sum" in damages from the now-defunct News of the World. The actor said the newspaper group had been guilty of phone hacking on an "industrial scale".
He was one of the victims of the illegal practice of phone hacking, which led to the closure of the newspaper in 2011. Grant's lawyer Anjlee Saigol told Mr Justice Mann the action against the Mirror Group related to the alleged illegal misuse of his information obtained by hacking of his voicemails, blagging and surveillance by journalists at all three of MGN newspapers.
Grant's lawyer Anjlee Saigol told the judge the action against Mirror Group was brought in relation to the alleged hacking of his voicemails. The practice of "blagging" is a deception technique used to obtain an individual's private data by posing as someone else.
She said: "Mr Grant brought this action in relation to alleged illegal misuses of his private information, obtained by hacking into his voicemails, as well as blagging and surveillance, committed by MGN's journalists at all three of its newspapers over, as MGN now accepts, many years." Newspaper group MGN owns the Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror and Sunday People.
She added: "Although Mr Grant now has some clarity as to the extent of MGN's unlawful activities in relation to him, one of his principal reasons for pursuing this case was to uncover and establish the wider truth about MGN's investigations into and knowledge of its unlawful activities before it finally admitted these practices in September 2014." 'Determined to uncover the truth'
The practice of "blagging" is a deception technique used to obtain an individual's private data by pretending to be someone else. Speaking outside court after Monday's hearing, Mr Grant said: "This case was not just about what they did to my phone and those close to me.
Blagging addresses, phone bills, bank statements and health records has been illegal since 1994. "In this litigation my lawyer and I pressed further because I was determined to uncover the truth about the nature of high-level concealment at the Mirror Group.
"This litigation has made clear that phone hacking and other unlawful information-gathering took place on an industrial scale at the Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror and Sunday People.
"This newspaper group has misled the public and its shareholders for many years; and it has let down its readers and its hard-working journalists.
"The public were not told the truth, the victims were not told the truth, the shareholders were not told the truth and the Leveson Inquiry was not told the truth.
"That is why the second part of the Leveson Inquiry must take place - to get to the truth and discover who broke the law and who lied about it."
On Monday, Grant's lawyer Anjlee Saigol added one of Grant's main reasons for pursuing the case was to establish the truth about the group's investigations and knowledge of its unlawful activities before it admitted it in September 2014.
In October, comedian Steve Coogan was the latest in a long list of more than 40 celebrities to have settled phone-hacking claims against MGN.In October, comedian Steve Coogan was the latest in a long list of more than 40 celebrities to have settled phone-hacking claims against MGN.
They include Lord Archer, footballer Kevin Keegan and actresses Patsy Kensit and Michelle Collins.They include Lord Archer, footballer Kevin Keegan and actresses Patsy Kensit and Michelle Collins.
Grant, who is known for films including Notting Hill and Four Weddings and a Funeral, was one of the leading voices in the campaign for stricter press regulation.
In 2012 he accepted a "substantial sum" in damages from the now-defunct News of the World.
Grant was one of the victims of the paper's widespread phone hacking, which led to its closure in 2011.
He gave evidence at the Leveson Inquiry into press ethics, set up following the News of the World phone-hacking scandal.