Hugh Grant Resolves Privacy Case Involving Rupert Murdoch’s Publication for ‘Enormous Sum’

Hugh Grant has settled a privacy case against the American businessman Rupert Murdoch. The settlement amount has created a buzz amongst the people. The lawsuit was against News Group Newspapers (NGN), the publisher of The Sun newspaper, as reported by AP News.

According to the actor's attorney, Grant, famous for his role in Notting Hill alleged that journalists from the publisher had unlawfully accessed his private information through methods such as phone tapping, home intrusion, and obtaining confidential data through illegal means.

Grant had previously filed a lawsuit against NGN, accusing the News Of The World tabloid of similar misconduct. This legal action was settled in 2012 amidst the fallout from the tabloid's infamous hacking scandal, which led to its closure under media mogul owner Rupert Murdoch. This prior lawsuit was settled in 2012. In a Twitter thread, now known as X, Grant shared with his fans about the privacy case and its settlement.

He wrote, "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 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. But 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," he continued. Adding further on the sum of the legal settlement the actor expressed, "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 £10 million in costs. I’m afraid I am shying at that fence. Rupert Murdoch has spent over £1 billion in damages to claimants and in lawyers’ fees, settling over 1500 claims in this way. He seems remarkably determined that there shouldn’t be a trial of the facts."

"Murdoch’s settlement money has a stink and I refuse to let this be hush money. I have spent the best part of 12 years fighting for a free press that does not distort the truth, abuse ordinary public members, or hold elected MPs to ransom in pursuit of newspaper barons’ personal profit and political power. So this money will be repurposed via groups like Hacked Off into the general campaign to expose the worst excesses of our oligarch-owned press," the tweet concluded.