Hugh Grant calls for police to investigate Sun owners
Hugh Grant has called for a new police criminal investigation into the owners of The Sun newspaper, saying the job was “not done by any means” after Prince Harry settled his privacy claims on Wednesday.
News Group News (NGN) has agreed to pay “substantial compensation” and apologize to the Duke of Sussex for “serious intrusion” at The Sun between 1996 and 2011, admitting “incidents of illegal activity” were caused by the newspaper Work carried out by private investigators. newspaper.
Grant has also settled privacy claims against NGN in 2024, saying he could face a bill of up to £10m even if he wins.
The actor said both incidents showed that civil cases were not “the right tool” to get to the “truth” about what happened at the newspaper.
Former Labor leader Lord Tom Watson, who also settled with NGN on Wednesday, said the legal team would submit a dossier to the Metropolitan Police.
Police said Friday there was no active investigation into allegations of phone hacking or related incidents.
A spokesman said: “We are awaiting any correspondence from interested parties and we will respond in due course.”
Grant said NGN had “deceived” civil courts into silencing complainants, necessitating a criminal investigation.
“This is what they’ve been doing for the last 10 years,” he told us. Friday’s Today program on BBC Radio 4.
“They spend £1bn to ensure these things never come to light in the courts… and you don’t get a proper judicial finding.
“I think what they’re afraid of is that these findings will trigger a new criminal investigation.”
In civil court, plaintiffs may end up paying their opponent’s costs if the damages are less than the settlement amount they offered – even if they win.
Grant accused The Sun of using private investigators to tap his phones and break into homes, and said he settled because he could not afford the possible costs of a trial.
NGN denied the allegations and said the settlement was reached “without any admission of liability”.
The actor called for an investigation by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and the Metropolitan Police.
The Crown Prosecution Service told the BBC that the criminal investigation was a matter for the police.
Grant also argued that a new investigation was needed because the private investigator who was engaged in “illegal activity” at the newspaper was still in a “position of power” at the time.
NGN apologized to Prince Harry for serious intrusions into his private life by The Sun between 1996 and 2011.
The paper’s editor at the time, Rebekah Brooks, is now chief executive of NewsAsia.com. She was cleared of conspiracy to steal voicemails at a 2014 trial.
“A lot of the foot soldiers of these newspapers are now on our side … saying this is terrible,” the actor said.
“We were punished, we went to jail, we paid fines, we lost our jobs.
“But the people directing it are still there.”
Meanwhile, Grant said the government should launch the second part of the Leveson inquiry into journalistic standards in light of the Duke of Sussex’s case.
In 2012, an inquiry into journalistic culture, practice and ethics was launched in the wake of the phone hacking scandal.
“This is something Labor has repeatedly promised to target victims of media abuse.
“Now that they’re in government, it seems to have suddenly disappeared from their list of priorities.”
On Thursday, Culture, Media and Sport Secretary Lisa Nandy ruled out launching a second phase of the inquiry, saying it was no longer “fit for purpose”.
Lisa Nandy told the BBC: “This was a lengthy investigation that was drawn up in a different era and a lot of the cases we’ve seen since have stemmed from things that happened online and now A lot of people consume news online.”
The BBC has contacted The Sun, News UK and the government for response.
