Four hacking ‘victims’ given go ahead to pursue compensation
Four alleged phone hacking victims, including actor Sienna Miller, should be given the go ahead to launch compensation claims against News of the World later this year, according to a judge.
Mr Justice Vos told London’s High Court on Friday that the claims should not be held up by the ongoing police investigation into the allegations.
“I am extremely unattracted to the idea of putting back the determination of these civil cases pending criminal proceedings which have not yet even resulted in charges,” he said.
However, he said it would be best to limit the civil action by having four test cases – possibly those of Ms Miller, interior designer Kelly Hoppen, commentator Andy Gray and sports agent Sky Andrew – as these were well-advanced and covered a range of issues and levels of damage.
It emerged that Ms Miller has been offered £100,000 in compensation by News International – as well as her legal costs – an offer she has neither accepted nor rejected.
One of the reasons Mr Justice Vos felt it neccessary to give the green light to a small number of test cases is because of the mounting number of allegations of phone hacking overall. The test cases are expected to begin later this year.
The court heard that Scotland Yard’s renewed investigation has revealed that the number of victims now exceeds 91 different individuals – far higher than previous estimates. Around 40 police officers were involved in indexing a 9,200-page document, referred to as the “Mulcaire archive”.
Police 'cash for info' probe 'pointless' - Brian Paddick
Friday’s day-long hearing follows a series of recent rulings over the disclosure of information by the Metropolitan Police and Vodafone relating to material forfeited by private detective Glenn Mulcaire who, with News of the World reporter Clive Goodman, was jailed over royal phone taps in 2007, and data from other mobile phone users.
At the end of last week, eight claimants, including Ms Miller and former culture secretary Tessa Jowell, received apologies from the newspaper.
News International has written to another nine claimants asking for further evidence that their voicemails had been intercepted so a decision can be made on whether they too are entitled to an apology and compensation.
In the last week, detectives investigating the allegations arrested three journalists at the newspaper: chief reporter Neville Thurlbeck, its former head of news Ian Edmondson, and senior reporter James Weatherup.
Hugh Tomlinson QC, who represents a number of claimants including Miller, told the judge that the case was not just about damages.
He said it was “important to bear in mind” that “private information, sometimes very private information, has been obtained, or so they infer from the documents”.
It also emerged that actor Jude Law, Ms Miller’s former partner, is also expected to launch legal action against the paper.
Mr Law was in a relationship with Miller between 2003 and 2005 and then again from 2009 before they split for the second time earlier this year.