News of the World phone hacking: Compensation scheme to be set up for victims
The owners of the News of the World have admitted liability for the hacking of celebrities’ phones by their journalists.
They have agreed to offer an ‘unreserved apology’ and substantial compensation to at least eight alleged victims.
Yesterday the paper’s parent company, News International, said it was setting up a compensation scheme for ‘justifiable claims’ with actress Sienna Miller, former culture secretary Tessa Jowell and ex-Sky Sports pundit Andy Gray among those expected to be offered payouts.
Hacked: Celebrities Jude Law and Sienna Miller both alleged their phones had been hacked
Sacked: Mary-Ellen Field lost her job with Australian model Elle Macpherson, left, after she accused her of leaking stories to the press; while actress Leslie Ash, right, suspected mobile phone messages from her children were hacked when she was ill with a hospital superbug
Others likely to receive compensation are Miss Jowell’s estranged husband David Mills, football agent Sky Andrew, publicist Nicola Phillips, Joan Hammell, a former aide to John Prescott, and interior designer Kelly Hoppen.
News International said today's announcement followed an 'extensive internal investigation' and disclosures through civil legal cases.
News International said 'past behaviour' at the newspaper was 'a matter of genuine regret'.
It comes after a number of well-known figures took High Court action over allegations of phone-hacking, including actresses Leslie Ash and Sienna Miller. It is not known who has received an apology.
In a statement, the company said: 'News International has decided to approach some civil litigants with an unreserved apology and an admission of liability in cases meeting specific criteria.
'We have also asked our lawyers to establish a compensation scheme with a view to dealing with justifiable claims fairly and efficiently.
'This will begin the process of bringing these cases to a fair resolution with damages appropriate to the extent of the intrusion.'
Good move: Veteran publicist Max Clifford said he thought the company's move was 'a step in the right direction'
But the company said it would continue to contest cases that it believed were without merit.
The statement went on: 'That said, past behaviour at the News of the World in relation to voicemail interception is a matter of genuine regret.
'It is now apparent that our previous inquiries failed to uncover important evidence and we acknowledge our actions then were not sufficiently robust.'
The company is working with the Metropolitan Police and it said it was its own 'voluntary disclosure' in January which led to the re-opening of the police investigation.
Mark Lewis, who is acting for a number of stars who claimed their phones were hacked, said the compensation could easily run into millions of pounds.
'At the moment it's not been disclosed who is going to be compensated or how,' he said.
'But it's a step in the right direction.'
Mr Lewis, of Taylor Hampton Solicitors, said the victims now wanted to know the truth about what happened, a full apology and an undertaking from the newspaper 'never to do it again'.
Asked about the level of compensation expected, he said it would run into the millions.
'It will depend on what happened to the individuals involved,' he said.
'For some of these people, it has had far-reaching effects on their career. Some people have lost their jobs.'
The phone hacking controversy has been a source of continuing embarrassment for News International at a time when its parent group, Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation, has been seeking to take control of BSkyB.
On Wednesday, former Deputy Prime Minister Lord Prescott, one of the public figures who has alleged his phone was hacked, said the controversial takeover should be delayed until police have completed their inquiry into the allegations.
Allegations: Comedian Steve Coogan, left, and former prime minister Gordon Brown are another of the high-profile names allegedly involved
On Tuesday detectives investigating the allegations arrested the paper's chief reporter and its former head of news.
Neville Thurlbeck, 50, and Ian Edmondson, 42, were held by Scotland Yard detectives when they voluntarily attended separate police stations in south west London.
Officers questioned the pair on suspicion of conspiring to intercept communications and unlawfully intercepting voicemail messages.
The men were later released on police bail to return in September.
Thurlbeck is a veteran reporter who has brought in some of the News of the World's most famous scoops, while Edmondson was sacked as the paper's assistant editor (news) in January after evidence emerged linking him to phone-tapping.
Arrested: Chief reporter Neville Thurlbeck, left, and Ian Edmondson, right, the paper's former head of news were held by Scotland Yard detectives
The arrests underlined the Metropolitan Police's determination to investigate the scandal thoroughly after criticism that an earlier inquiry was inadequate.
They were the first people arrested since Scotland Yard reopened its inquiry into claims that staff at the top-selling Sunday newspaper hacked into the answerphone messages of celebrities, politicians and royals.
HACKING: THE TIMELINE
August 8 2006 - Detectives arrest News of the World royal editor Clive Goodman and private investigator Glenn Mulcaire over allegations they hacked into the mobile phones of members of the royal household.
January 26 2007 - Goodman is jailed for four months and Mulcaire for six months after they admit intercepting voicemail messages on royal aides' phones, including some left by Prince William.
News of the World editor Andy Coulson resigns from his post, saying he 'deeply regrets' what happened and takes 'ultimate responsibility' for it.
May 18 2007 - The Press Complaints Commission says in a report it is satisfied no-one else at the News of the World knew Goodman and Mulcaire were tapping phone messages.
May 31 2007 - Then-opposition leader David Cameron announces Mr Coulson has been appointed as the Conservative Party's director of communications and planning.
July 9 2009 - The Guardian newspaper reports News Group Newspapers, which publishes the News of the World, has paid out more than £1 million to settle cases that threatened to reveal evidence of its journalists' alleged involvement in phone hacking. Scotland Yard says it will not be carrying out a new investigation into the allegations, but the Crown Prosecution Service announces an urgent review of material provided by the police in 2006.
July 21 2009 - Mr Coulson tells MPs on the Culture, Media and Sport Committee things went 'badly wrong' under his editorship of the News of the World, but insists he knew nothing about alleged phone tapping by his journalists.
November 9 2009 - The Press Complaints Commission says in a second report it has seen no new evidence to suggest anyone at the News of the World other than Goodman and Mulcaire hacked phone messages, or that executives knew what the pair were doing.
February 24 2010 - A Culture, Media and Sport Committee report finds no evidence Mr Coulson knew phone hacking was taking place at the News of the World, but says it is 'inconceivable' no-one apart from Goodman was aware of it.
May 11 2010 - Mr Coulson becomes head of the new coalition Government's media operation after Mr Cameron enters 10 Downing Street.
September 5 2010 - The New York Times publishes a long article which claims Mr Coulson knew his staff were carrying out illegal phone hacking. The story also raises questions about how vigorously Scotland Yard pursued the case.
November 4 2010 - Mr Coulson is interviewed as a witness by Metropolitan Police detectives investigating the phone tapping allegations. He is not cautioned or arrested.
December 10 2010 - The Crown Prosecution Service says no further charges will be brought over the News of the World phone hacking scandal because witnesses refused to co-operate with police.
January 21 2011 - Mr Coulson announces he is standing down as Downing Street communications chief, admitting the drip-drip of claims about illegal eavesdropping under his editorship is making his job impossible.
January 26 2011 - Scotland Yard launches a fresh inquiry into the phone hacking controversy after receiving 'significant new information' from the News of the World's publisher, News International. The paper sacks its assistant editor (news), Ian Edmondson, after he is linked to the scandal in documents relating to legal action by actress Sienna Miller lodged at the High Court.
April 5 2011 - Scotland Yard detectives arrest Edmondson and the News of the World's chief reporter Neville Thurlbeck on suspicion of conspiring to intercept communications and unlawfully intercepting voicemail messages. They were later bailed.
April 8 2011 - News International admits liability and apologises 'unreservedly' to a number of public figures over the allegations.
A committee of MPs heard allegations in 2009 that a transcript of voicemail messages between Professional Footballers' Association boss Gordon Taylor and his legal adviser was prepared for Thurlbeck.
Scotland Yard has endured repeated criticism over its handling of its original phone-hacking inquiry, which led to the conviction of News of the World royal editor Clive Goodman and private investigator Glenn Mulcaire in 2007.
The paper's former editor Andy Coulson resigned as Prime Minister David Cameron's director of communications in January as he admitted that the continuing row about the affair was making his job impossible.
Days later the Met launched a fresh investigation, codenamed Operation Weeting, after receiving 'significant new information' from News International.
The decision came amid a steady flow of new allegations about the hacking of the mobile phone messages of high-profile public figures, said to include actress Sienna Miller, her ex-partner Jude Law, former prime minister Gordon Brown, former footballer Paul Gascoigne, comedian Steve Coogan and sports commentator Andy Gray.
Miller obtained a High Court ruling on Tuesday ordering Vodafone to disclose data relating to other mobile phone users so she can identify who called her number in an attempt to access her voicemails.
Supermodel Elle Macpherson's former adviser Mary-Ellen Field, Nicola Phillips, former assistant to celebrity publicist Max Clifford, and jockey Kieren Fallon were among those who have issued proceedings against the News of the World, Mr Lewis said.
Ms Field, who advised the supermodel on intellectual property and licensing agreements from March 2003, lost her job in January 2005 after Macpherson accused her of leaking stories to the press.
Mr Clifford, who brought a private case against the News of the World and received a reported settlement of £1 million, said: 'I think this is a step in the right direction. I am very glad they have done this.
'They have done a very thorough investigation themselves and clearly what they have discovered has made them make this decision.
'In view of what they have discovered, clearly this was the best thing for them to do - it was a pre-emptive strike.
'From a PR point of view they're making the best of a bad situation.
'It is going to cost them a lot of money for the people who have genuine claims as well as people who do not have genuine claims who are going to jump on the bandwagon.
'There are also a lot of people who believe they have been hacked by the News of the World.'
In a message on micro-blogging website Twitter, former deputy prime minister Lord Prescott said: 'The NOTW has now admitted mass criminality.
'The Government should NOT approve Murdoch's bid for BSkyB until all investigations are complete.'
Lord Prescott believes his name was on a list of hacking targets seized from Mulcaire and claims the police failed to carry out an effective investigation.
He and Labour MP Chris Bryant are seeking judicial review of the police response to their cases.
Mr Bryant, who also believes he was a hacking victim, said: 'This is nothing but a damage limitation exercise by News International, which proves that everything they've said about this case to date has been a pack of lies.
'There wasn't just one reporter. There weren't very few victims. Nobody ever did a thorough investigation in 2006 or 2009.
'Senior figures at the paper must have been aware of what was going on and should now resign.'
Mr Bryant added: 'What is depressing is that there are literally thousands of people who have been affected by the illegal activity at the News of the World and many of them still don't even know they were involved.
'There are still major questions to be answered: What was the full level of criminality at the News of World?
'Why was no proper investigation done by the Metropolitan Police in 2006, 2009 or 2010? Why has it taken civil actions by private individuals to expose this scandal?
'Did this activity only happen between 2004 and 2006 or did it, as I suspect, start earlier and go on longer?'
NEWS INTERNATIONAL: THE APOLOGY IN FULL
'Following an extensive internal investigation and disclosures through civil legal cases, News International has decided to approach some civil litigants with an unreserved apology and an admission of liability in cases meeting specific criteria.
'We have also asked our lawyers to establish a compensation scheme with a view to dealing with justifiable claims fairly and efficiently.
'This will begin the process of bringing these cases to a fair resolution with damages appropriate to the extent of the intrusion.
'We will, however, continue to contest cases that we believe are without merit or where we are not responsible.
'That said, past behaviour at the News of the World in relation to voicemail interception is a matter of genuine regret.
'It is now apparent that our previous inquiries failed to uncover important evidence and we acknowledge our actions then were not sufficiently robust.
'We continue to co-operate fully with the Metropolitan Police. It was our discovery and voluntary disclosure of this evidence in January that led to the reopening of the police investigation.
'With that investigation ongoing, we cannot comment further until its completion.
'News International's commitment to our readers and pride in our award-winning journalism remains undiminished.
'We will continue to engage with and challenge those who attempt to restrict our industry's freedom to undertake responsible investigative r
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