Actor donates hacking claim cash

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

The 57-year-old was at the High Court in central London yesterday when the details of the settlement were provided at a hearing.

The Love Actually and Paddington 2 star said the news- paper 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 were not made public, but it was reported that the payment involved a six-figure sum, which the actor donated to the antihacking activist group Hacked Off.

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

Comedian Steve Coogan also received a six-figure sum from the Mirror Group in October over illegal phone hacking.