Footballer settles claim in phone hack scandal

Footballer Ryan Giggs has settled his phone-hacking damages claim against News Group Newspapers (NGN).

Hugh Tomlinson, QC, told Mr Justice Vos at London’s High Court yesterday that the case had reached settlement since the proceedings last went before him on 20 April.

Lawyers later confirmed that this was on confidential terms.

There are still 46 active claims in the second wave of the litigation, as it emerged that television presenter June Sarpong had issued proceedings.

At the case management conference, ahead of a February 2013 trial date for any claims that do not reach agreement, the judge was concerned with issues of budgeting.

He said that while the costs involved had to be proportionate, the court’s aim was that each case should get to a point where a claimant could feel comfortable enough to settle.

He told Michael Silverleaf, QC for NGN, that he could not get away from the the fact that there had been “concealment and disposal of evidence” which led claimants to be suspicious.

“The whole purpose of this litigation is to achieve peace ultimately with the people who were intercepted,” he said.

In any event, he added, the budgets involved were going to be relatively modest.

Some of the more well-known names on the register of claims are: singer James Blunt, footballer Peter Crouch and his wife, Abigail Clancy, boxer Chris Eubank, politician Nigel Farage, footballer Kieron Dyer, and golfer Colin Montgomerie’s ex-wife Eimear Cook.