Actor Hugh Grant settles phone-hacking case with UK newspapers

British actor Hugh Grant has settled his phone-hacking damages claim against Mirror Group Newspapers for an undisclosed amount.

Grant, who most recently appeared in the children’s film Paddington 2, was at the High Court on Monday when the details of the settlement were provided at a hearing.

Grant said the newspaper group had engaged in “industrial scale” phone hacking.

“This newspaper group has misled the public and its shareholders for many years; and it has let down its readers and its hard-working journalists,” Grant said outside the court.

Settlement details weren’t made public. British media said the payment involved a six-figure sum which the actor donated to the anti-hacking activist group Hacked Off.

Grant’s claim involved, Sunday Mirror and Sunday People newspapers. He has for a number of years spoken out against intrusive and sometimes illegal British press activities.

In October a separate phone-hacking case saw Rupert Murdoch-owned newspapers The News of The World and The Sun accused in court of hiding evidence of illegal hacks by journalists.