Hugh Grant explains why he had to settle his hacking lawsuit with the Sun

Hugh Grant has spent the better part of 13 years working on issues related to the criminal, unethical and sleazy operations of the British media, specifically the British tabloids. Hugh formed Hacked Off in 2011 to hold the media’s power to account, and publicize the methods being used by the British press. Hugh has also spent years suing various outlets, including those owned by Rupert Murdoch. Well, Hugh has just announced that he settled his lawsuit against the Sun after they made him a very large settlement offer. He used a Twitter thread to explain why he had to (I’ve only made minor edits for space). From Hugh’s Twitter:

For anyone who has been interested in my lawsuit against the Sun, the news is that I’ve had to settle my claim out of court before it gets to trial. A thread:

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. 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.

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 £1billon 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 members of the public or hold elected MPs to ransom in pursuit of newspaper barons’ personal profit and political power.

So this money will repurposed via groups like Hacked Off into the general campaign to expose the worst excesses of our oligarch-owned press.

[From Hugh Grant’s Twitter]

What the absolute f–k??? “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.” Britain, are you okay? Why is this part of civil litigation law? Add to that, the British media has successfully spent years successfully arguing for limitations on the damages people can seek for things like defamation, harassment, phone tapping and illegal monitoring. British civil law is now completely set up to shelter and protect the media-perpetrators of crimes against citizens/subjects. This actually makes me understand why people like Sienna Miller had to settle out of court too.

As for Hugh… I completely understand his situation and why he’s settled. He hasn’t given up, he’s giving himself a chance to fight another day. Meanwhile, Prince Harry’s trial against the Sun is scheduled for January 2025. I wonder how much money The Sun will offer Harry… at the very last minute, after they’ve spent years smearing him?

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid, Cover Images.

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