Hugh Grant settles court case against The Sun’s publisher ‘for enormous sum of money’

Hugh Grant has settled with the publisher of The Sun for “an enormous amount of money” after being advised he risked being liable for £10m in legal costs if his case proceeded to a trial.

News of the out-of-court settlement was revealed in court documents today after Grant, 63, launched legal action against News Group Newspapers (NGN), alleging he was targeted by journalists and private investigators, having previously settled a claim with the publisher in 2012 relating to the News of the World.

Grant, alongside Prince Harry, was suing for alleged widespread unlawful information gathering, including landline tapping, burglary and “blagging” confidential information about him.

The actor explained that while he would “love to see all the allegations that they deny tested in court”, he did not want to be liable for the £10m legal costs this could incur.

He said: “News Group are claiming they are entirely innocent of the things I had accused The Sun of doing – phone hacking, unlawful information gathering, landline tapping, the burglary of my flat and office, the bugging of my car, the illegal blagging of medical records, lies, perjury and the destruction of evidence.

“As is common with entirely innocent people, they are offering me an enormous sum of money to keep this matter out of court. I don’t want to accept this money or settle. I would love to see all the allegations that they deny tested in court.”

Fearing soaring legal costs, Mr Grant explained his decision to settle with the publisher was because “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.

“My lawyers tell me that that is exactly what would most likely happen here. Rupert Murdoch’s lawyers are very expensive. So even if every allegation is proven in court, I would still be liable for something approaching £10m in costs. I’m afraid I am shying at that fence.”

The publisher denies any wrongdoing on behalf of staff at The Sun in all cases, but it has now settled more than 1,000 claims against it out of court.

Anthony Hudson KC, representing NGN, told a judge that there were “currently 42 extant claims … that follows the recent settlement of Mr Grant’s claim.”

The actor previously settled with NGN out of court back in 2012 over claims relating to the News of the World, which was ultimately shut down because of boycotts from advertisers.

Advertisers backed out of supporting the publication after the highly publicised phone hacking scandal of 2011, which revealed that the outlet and other publications owned by Rupert Murdoch engaged in unethical practices including phone hacking while newsgathering for their stories.

The Independent has contacted NGN and a representative for Hugh Grant for comment.