Hugh Grant. They were supposed to eavesdrop on the actor and break into his apartment, now they are offering him a “huge sum”

Hugh Grant sued newspaper publisher News Group Newspapers (NGN) in 2023, accusing it of illegally collecting information about him, including tapping landlines and breaking into a London flat. The actor's lawyer, David Sherborne, said that Grant agreed to the settlement with NGN, Reuters reported on Wednesday afternoon. On the same day, the artist published a number of entries on X in which he explained why he decided to take such a step.

“News Group claims to be completely innocent of what I have accused the Sun of – phone hacking, illegal information gathering, wiretapping of landlines, break-ins into my home and office, wiretapping of my car, illegal viewing of medical records , lies, perjury and destruction of evidence,” Grant wrote. “As is usually the case with completely innocent people, they are offering me a huge sum of money to keep this case out of court,” he added ironically.

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The actor noted that he “does not intend” to accept the money and that he would like all of his allegations “to be verified in court.” “However, under the rules of civil procedure, if there is a trial and the court awards me damages that are even a penny less than the settlement offer, I will have to cover the legal costs of both parties,” he said. Grant pointed out that “Rupert Murdoch's lawyers are very expensive.” “So even if every allegation is proven in court, I will still be liable for costs of around £10 million,” he added.

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In 2023, Hugh Grant explained in the High Court in London that in 2011, unknown perpetrators broke down the door to his London apartment. However, nothing was stolen during the burglary. The next day, The Sun published an article “describing the interior of the apartment in detail.” The actor emphasized that at that time he “had no evidence that the hack was committed at the request of any press title.” Only recently, after a conversation with private detective Gavin Burrows, did he come into possession of information that prompted him to file a lawsuit against the tabloid's publisher.

– My claim relates to unlawful acts committed by The Sun, including commissioning burglaries on private property to obtain private information by wiretapping, landline telephone tapping and mobile phone hacking, and the use of private detectives to carry out these and other illegal acts – Grant testified in court, quoted in the Guardian.

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