Hugh Grant explains why he’s opted for out-of-court settlement in privacy lawsuit against British tabloid

British actor Hugh Grant announced on Wednesday that he has reached an out-of-court settlement with tabloid The Sun. Grant, along with Prince Harry, had accused News Group Newspaper (NGN) of engaging in unlawful activties like phone tapping and burglary, to obtain private information about him. 

Grant, a prominent name in cinema in Britain and in Hollywood, is one of the leading advocates for press reform in the UK following the phone-hacking scandal that rocked the nation over a decade ago. In recent years, Grant has joined hands with Prince Harry to campaign for change in media practices. 

Although his case was among several set for trial at London’s High Court in January, Grant opted to settle the case out of court with NGN.

The actor posted a thread on X, sharing an update on the long-standing case. “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,” was his first X post.

This was followed by, “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.”

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

“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,” the actor explained, “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.”

Grant added, “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,” and continued, “Abuse ordinary members of the public or hold elected MPs to ransom in pursuit of newspaper barons’ personal profit and political power.”
He concluded his X thread by thanking those who stood by him during this.