Law Receives Payout Over Hacking Scandal

21st January 2012

1Comments | Comment on this Article

Jude Law has opened up about the "appalling" way he was targeted atthe hands of a British tabloid, following a phone hacking settlement from the publishers.

For me this case was never about money. It was about standing up for myself and finding out what had happened

The Sherlock Holmes star sued for breach of privacy and confidence against Rupert Murdoch's now-defunct News of the World, which closed last July (11) after 168 years amid the fallout from the hacking scandal.

Law, who alleged his cell phone voicemail messages had been repeatedly listened to between 2003 and 2006, has now accepted $208,000 (?130,000) in damages, and his ex-wife Sadie Frost receives $80,000 (?50,000), London's High Court heard on Thursday (19Jan12).

In a statement, Law says, "Over a number of years, the News of the World conducted an illegal campaign of hacking and surveillance against me. In 2011, I decided to bring legal proceedings against them to try to find out the truth.

"Today, in court, it has been announced that those proceedings have been completely successful... For me this case was never about money. It was about standing up for myself and finding out what had happened".

British singer Cheryl Cole's former husband, soccer star Ashley Cole, Noel Gallagher's ex-wife Meg Matthews, and Australian pop star Dannii Minogue have all also reached a settlement with the paper's publisher News International.