Bahama Times

Friday, Mar 29, 2024

Hugh Grant accuses Sun publisher of 'deliberate false denials'

Hugh Grant accuses Sun publisher of 'deliberate false denials'

Hugh Grant says the publisher of The Sun newspaper used a "deliberate policy of false denials" to prevent him suing for breaches of his privacy.
A witness statement from him alleges the paper commissioned private investigators to break into his home and steal his private information.

The actor was at the High Court for legal arguments as News UK attempted to get his case thrown out.

The publisher denies the claims and wants the judge to reject them.

Hugh Grant's statement claims that for years, News UK, as it is now called, lied about its involvement in phone hacking and illegal information gathering.

He said the company had a "vast, long-lasting and deliberate policy strategy plan of false denials and other concealment in relation to The Sun, to prevent me, and others in a similar position, from bringing claims against them."

This included, he said, false denials to the Leveson Inquiry into Press Standards, a press complaints body, and in public statements.

Prince Harry is also suing the publisher of the Sun over alleged unlawful information-gathering.

In recent years, News UK has settled a series of claims about illegal information gathering, without admitting liability.

The question of when victims of press intrusion learnt that they might have a case is crucial to this stage of the legal process because usually civil claims have to be brought within six years.

Many of the "hacking" claims date back much further, and could be dismissed as too old.

Mr Grant said in his statement that he only became fully aware of the intrusions into his personal life last year when a private investigator, Gavin Burrows, told him The Sun had hired private investigators to target him.

"Mr Burrows had information that, in addition to hacking my phone and tapping my landline, he was aware that my premises had been burgled by people working for The Sun and that a tracking device had been placed in my car. I found this astonishing."

Hugh Grant told the Leveson Inquiry in 2011 that his flat had been broken into and that a story shortly afterwards had given details of the inside.

In the statement, he said: "I had no evidence that this burglary was carried out or commissioned on the instruction of the press, let alone The Sun".

He also learned that private investigators specialising in "blagging" medical information by ringing hospitals had also been paid to find out about the birth of his daughter to Tinglan Hong, his former partner.

"Although we did our best to keep this information out of the public domain, we suspected that it was leaked by the hospital to the media", he said.

However the recent disclosures convinced him The Sun had been behind the targeting of his private life.

He said News UK "considered itself above the law and is using the law now in a way I believe it was never intended, that is to further cover-up and conceal what it has done."

"I strongly believe that cannot be allowed to happen and that what it has done must be brought to light."

Mr Justice Fancourt said another legal hearing would be needed in early July before he could deliver his judgement.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Bahama Times
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
Israel: Unprecedented Civil Disobedience Looms as IDF Reservists Protest Judiciary Reform
America's First New Nuclear Reactor in Nearly Seven Years Begins Operations
Southeast Asia moves closer to economic unity with new regional payments system
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
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
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
40,000 child slaves in Congo are forced to work in cobalt mines so we can drive electric cars.
BBC Personalities Rebuke Accusations Amidst Scandal Involving Teen Exploitation
A Swift Disappointment: Why Is Taylor Swift Bypassing Canada on Her Global Tour?
Historic Moment: Edgars Rinkevics, EU's First Openly Gay Head of State, Takes Office as Latvia's President
Bye bye democracy, human rights, freedom: French Cops Can Now Secretly Activate Phone Cameras, Microphones And GPS To Spy On Citizens
The Poor Man With Money, Mark Zuckerberg, Unveils Twitter Replica with Heavy-Handed Censorship: A New Low in Innovation?
Unilever Plummets in a $2.5 Billion Free Fall, to begin with: A Reckoning for Misuse of Corporate Power Against National Interest
Beyond the Blame Game: The Need for Nuanced Perspectives on America's Complex Reality
Twitter Targets Meta: A Tangle of Trade Secrets and Copycat Culture
The Double-Edged Sword of AI: AI is linked to layoffs in industry that created it
US Sanctions on China's Chip Industry Backfire, Prompting Self-Inflicted Blowback
Meta Copy Twitter with New App, Threads
The New French Revolution
BlackRock Bitcoin ETF Application Refiled, Naming Coinbase as ‘Surveillance-Sharing’ Partner
×