Phone hacking claim settled

Mirror Group Newspapers - owned by Trinity Mirror, the publishers of the Oldham-based Rochdale Observer and the Manchester Evening News - has settled the phone hacking claim of actor Hugh Grant.

In a statement read out in the High Court, MGN apologised for the “unlawful interception of voice mails and procurement of private information” against Grant across the Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror and Sunday People newspapers.

MGN admitted that a number of its senior employees, including executives, editors and journalists, "condoned, encouraged or actively turned a blind eye to the widespread culture of unlawful information gathering activities"... and "actively sought to conceal its wrongdoing from its many victims of intrusion”.

Grant, who received a six-figure damages payout, said Trinity Mirror had “concealed ten years of criminality”.