Those involved include singer Sharleen Spiteri, actor Sean Bean, and ex-cricketer Shane Warne. Several celebrities and high-profile figures have settled phone hacking claims against the publisher of the News Of The World the High Court has heard.
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Statements were read before Mr. Justice Fancourt on behalf of 15 celebrities and other figures, including actor Sean Bean Texas lead singer Sharleen Spiteri and ex-cricketer and commentator Shane Warne News Group Newspapers (NGN), publisher of the now-defunct newspaper, has agreed to pay "substantial damages". ” to each of the claimants and also pay their legal costs. The publisher, through its legal team, made public apologies to each of the claimants for the actions of the News Of The World but did not admit any liability regarding allegations of phone hacking at one of its other newspapers, The Sun. The group who have settled cases also includes actresses Julia and Nadia Sawalha and Michelle Collins, ex-television presenter Dani Behr, singer Dane Bowers, and former Coronation Street actors Richard Fleeshman and Quintin Lawson – also known as Charlie Lawson – who played Jim McDonald in the popular soap opera. The court also heard statements on behalf of agent Jane Epstein, Anne Diamond's husband Michael Hollingsworth, former Big Brother contestant Imogen Thomas, former journalist Louise Port and Natalie Cecil, the ex-wife of racehorse trainer Henry Cecil. In a statement read on behalf of Ms. Spiteri, her solicitor Callum Galbraith told the court she was an "obvious person for the press to target", both as a result of her success with Texas and her friendship with several people in the public eye, including members of Paul McCartney's family. Mr. Galbraith said the singer had identified several articles published between 1998 and 2009 that she claimed contained her private information.