Bermuda Post

Thursday, Mar 28, 2024

Spice Girl among stars to begin phone-hacking claims against Murdoch empire

Spice Girl among stars to begin phone-hacking claims against Murdoch empire

Melanie Chisholm, Boyzone’s Shane Lynch and S Club 7’s Hannah Spearritt latest to allege voicemail interception
A group of 1990s pop stars are among the latest individuals to launch phone-hacking cases against Rupert Murdoch’s media empire, as the scandal that has dogged the company for more than 15 years continues to rumble on at the high court.

Melanie Chisholm from the Spice Girls, Shane Lynch from Boyzone, Hannah Spearritt from S Club 7, and Steps’s Ian Watkins and Lee Latchford-Evans have recently filed claims against the company.

The cases are a reminder that, even as Murdoch attempts to revive his reputation in the UK with the launch of his national television channel talkTV, his business is continuing to pay out millions of pounds a year to settle historical cases of illegal voicemail interception.

The company is also embroiled in a phone-hacking case brought by Prince Harry, who has alleged that his voicemails were targeted by the Sun and News of the World. Murdoch’s lawyers have accepted that Harry’s phone was hacked by reporters at the News of the World, but say he was made aware of this in 2006, meaning he has missed the six-year statute of limitations on bringing such cases. They deny allegations that his phone was targeted by reporters working for the Sun.

Murdoch’s decision to hire Piers Morgan as the lead presenter of talkTV will also refocus attention on the use of phone hacking when Morgan was editor of the Mirror. Phone hacking was widely practised by Mirror reporters during this era, and Morgan has previously discussed listening to voicemails left by Sir Paul McCartney. However, he has always strongly denied any personal involvement or knowledge of illegal information-gathering.

The new cases by the 1990s pop stars have been filed against Murdoch’s News Group Newspapers subsidiary, the legal owner of the Sun and the now defunct News of the World. Murdoch has burnt through hundreds of millions of pounds in legal fees over the last decade settling similar cases. This has ensured that claims are not tested in potentially embarrassing public trials.

News UK declined to comment on the latest cases.

Despite repeated claims in court hearings that phone hacking was widely used at the Sun, the company has repeatedly insisted that the practice did not take place at the daily tabloid. Even settlements that are made specifically in relation to allegations of wrongdoing at the Sun are usually accompanied by a statement from News UK insisting that such hacking was limited to the News of the World.

However, the Lib Dem MP Simon Hughes recently won a case explicitly relating to articles published by the Sun during the editorship of Rebekah Brooks, who is now in charge of all Murdoch’s British media outlets. Asked about Brooks’ involvement in the story, Hughes said outside court that he would not name names, but “it is clear from all I have seen that it went to the top of the Sun”.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Bermuda Post
0:00
0:00
Close
Paper straws found to contain long-lasting and potentially toxic chemicals - study
FTX's Bankman-Fried headed for jail after judge revokes bail
Blackrock gets half a trillion dollar deal to rebuild Ukraine
Steve Jobs' Son Launches Venture Capital Firm With $200 Million For Cancer Treatments
Israel: Unprecedented Civil Disobedience Looms as IDF Reservists Protest Judiciary Reform
Google reshuffles Assistant unit, lays off some staffers, to 'supercharge' products with A.I.
End of Viagra? FDA approved a gel against erectile dysfunction
UK sanctions Russians judges over dual British national Kara-Murza's trial
US restricts visa-free travel for Hungarian passport holders because of security concerns
America's First New Nuclear Reactor in Nearly Seven Years Begins Operations
Southeast Asia moves closer to economic unity with new regional payments system
Political leader from South Africa, Julius Malema, led violent racist chants at a massive rally on Saturday
Today Hunter Biden’s best friend and business associate, Devon Archer, testified that Joe Biden met in Georgetown with Russian Moscow Mayor's Wife Yelena Baturina who later paid Hunter Biden $3.5 million in so called “consulting fees”
Singapore Carries Out First Execution of a Woman in Two Decades Amid Capital Punishment Debate
Spanish Citizenship Granted to Iranian chess player who removed hijab
US Senate Republican Mitch McConnell freezes up, leaves press conference
Speaker McCarthy says the United States House of Representatives is getting ready to impeach Joe Biden.
San Francisco car crash
This camera man is a genius
3D ad in front of Burj Khalifa
Next level gaming
Google testing journalism AI. We are doing it already 2 years, and without Google biased propoganda and manipulated censorship
Unlike illegal imigrants coming by boats - US Citizens Will Need Visa To Travel To Europe in 2024
Musk announces Twitter name and logo change to X.com
'I just lost it' Lowe’s worker fired after 13 years of employment for confronting thieves trying to steal $2K of merchandise
The politician and the journalist lost control and started fighting on live broadcast.
The future of sports
Unveiling the Black Hole: The Mysterious Fate of EU's Aid to Ukraine
Farewell to a Music Titan: Tony Bennett, Renowned Jazz and Pop Vocalist, Passes Away at 96
Alarming Behavior Among Florida's Sharks Raises Concerns Over Possible Cocaine Exposure
Transgender Exclusion in Miss Italy Stirs Controversy Amidst Changing Global Beauty Pageant Landscape
Joe Biden admitted, in his own words, that he delivered what he promised in exchange for the $10 million bribe he received from the Ukraine Oil Company.
TikTok Takes On Spotify And Apple, Launches Own Music Service
Global Trend: Using Anti-Fake News Laws as Censorship Tools - A Deep Dive into Tunisia's Scenario
Arresting Putin During South African Visit Would Equate to War Declaration, Asserts President Ramaphosa
Hacktivist Collective Anonymous Launches 'Project Disclosure' to Unearth Information on UFOs and ETIs
Typo sends millions of US military emails to Russian ally Mali
Server Arrested For Theft After Refusing To Pay A Table's $100 Restaurant Bill When They Dined & Dashed
The Changing Face of Europe: How Mass Migration is Reshaping the Political Landscape
China Urges EU to Clarify Strategic Partnership Amid Trade Tensions
Europe is boiling: Extreme Weather Conditions Prevail Across the Continent
The Last Pour: Anchor Brewing, America's Pioneer Craft Brewer, Closes After 127 Years
Democracy not: EU's Digital Commissioner Considers Shutting Down Social Media Platforms Amid Social Unrest
Sarah Silverman and Renowned Authors Lodge Copyright Infringement Case Against OpenAI and Meta
Italian Court's Controversial Ruling on Sexual Harassment Ignites Uproar
Why Do Tech Executives Support Kennedy Jr.?
The New York Times Announces Closure of its Sports Section in Favor of The Athletic
BBC Anchor Huw Edwards Hospitalized Amid Child Sex Abuse Allegations, Family Confirms
Florida Attorney General requests Meta CEO's testimony on company's platforms' alleged facilitation of illicit activities
The Distorted Mirror of actual approval ratings: Examining the True Threat to Democracy Beyond the Persona of Putin
×