Steve Coogan has received a six-figure sum in damages and an apology from Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN) after his phone was hacked.
The British comedian and actor first hit out at MGN in July 2015 when the paper took responsibility for intercepting his voicemails and using third parties to obtain information, offering him an apology and damages.
Over a year later Coogan further sought to look further into the “wrongdoing”, claiming MGN attempted to hide the articles, and after appearing in London’s High Court on Tuesday (02Oct17) the star reached a settlement with the company.
Coogan’s counsel David Sherborne told the judge, Mr. Justice Mann, “Mr. Coogan has identified 62 articles that he alleges are likely to have been produced by use of these means.
“Much of what was published caused enormous distress and significant damage to Mr. Coogan’s relationships with those he wrongly suspected had leaked private information or who believed he was the cause of their private information being made public.”
When asked what the results mean to him Coogan said, “Vindication,” noting most of the money he will be awarded will be distributed to good causes.
MGN has also issued a statement taking full responsibility for its actions, saying, “It apologizes to Mr Coogan for its wrongdoing over a decade ago and for any articles that were the product of unlawful activity and for the concealment of these activities.
“MGN apologizes to Mr Coogan and accepts that he and other victims should not have been denied the truth for so long.”
