Mirror publisher pays out £500,000 to settle phone-hacking claims

Natasha Kaplinsky and Les Dennis

The publisher of the Daily Mirror has paid out __more than £500,000 to settle phone-hacking claims by 29 people including the entertainer Les Dennis, presenter Natasha Kaplinsky and EastEnders actor Steve McFadden.

The former footballer Sol Campbell, retired boxer Audley Harrison and model Victoria Hervey were also among those whose claims against Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN) were settled at the high court.

Many of the claimants were friends or family of the famous people targeted by journalists. They included David Beckham’s father, Ted, and singer Charlotte Church’s ex-boyfriend Steven Johnson, his father – also called Steven Johnson – and his mother, Yvonne Kearle.

In all but one case – that of the Emmerdale actor Jayne Walton, who received £40,000 damages and her legal costs – the details of the agreements were not made public.

McFadden, who plays Phil Mitchell in EastEnders, was said to have been caused “significant distress”. Kaplinsky, the TV presenter who won Strictly Come Dancing in 2004, was said to have been “heartbroken” when private details of her wedding and honeymoon were published.

Kim Waite, acting for Trinity, accepted that unlawful interception of voicemail or other privacy breaches had occurred, and offered her “sincere apologies” to all 29 claimants. She said Trinity “deeply regrets the wrongful acts” and would not do the same in the future.

The other people who had their claims settled included the actor Neil Morrissey’s partner Emma Killick, the actors William Mellor, Sarah Parish and Abigail Titmuss, the musician Lee Ryan, Barry Smith, ex-boyfriend of the actor Sadie Frost, and the sports injuries doctor Mark Waller.

The TV presenter Jeff Brazier, Simon Clegg, former chief executive of the British Olympic Association, the Big Brother contestant Victor Ebuwa, James Gardner, a friend of the footballer Paul Gascoigne, and George Best’s agent Philip Hughes were also among the 29.

Others included Best’s son, Calum, the former real estate agency director Sandy Armstrong, the singer-songwriter Samuel Preston and his ex-fiancee.

A number of those who settled their claims with MGN, a subsidiary of Trinity Mirror, including Dennis and Clegg, are involved in a separate civil case against the Sun publisher News Group Newspapers.