Sienna Miller settles phone-hacking claim with tabloid's publisher

A week after Meghan Markle's privacy victory, actress Sienna Miller said her life had nearly been ruined by British newspaper The Sun, as she settled a phone-hacking claim with the tabloid´s publisher.

The 39-year-old star brought legal action against News Group Newspapers (NGN) over alleged voicemail interception and misuse of private information in September 2019.

The publisher, part of Rupert Murdoch´s News Corp empire, denied illegal information gathering and agreed to settle for "substantial damages" without admitting liability.

The case at the High Court in London came after some 15 public figures also settled claims against NGN over phone-hacking at the now-defunct News of the World weekly.

In court, New York-born Miller´s lawyer said she faced "intense media scrutiny and serious intrusion into her private life" that affected not only her, but her also family and friends.

"In particular, The Sun published numerous intrusive stories about her that contained private details about her relationships and feelings and even her confidential medical information," said David Sherbourne.

That included revealing details of a pregnancy, the court was told.

"She felt at the time, and still does, that The Sun brutally took away her choice in the matter," Sherbourne said, adding that she could "never forgive what they did".

Outside court, Miller said she wanted the case to go to full trial "to expose the criminality that runs through the heart" of NGN but the huge costs involved prevented her.

"They (The Sun) very nearly ruined my life. I have certainly seen how they have ruined the lives of others," she said.

"Their behaviour shattered me, damaged my reputation -- at times beyond repair -- and caused me to accuse my family and friends of selling information that catapulted me into a state of intense paranoia and fear."

Murdoch shut down the News of the World in 2011 after it emerged the newspaper hired a private investigator to hack into the voicemail of a missing girl who was later found murdered.

It led to a wider police inquiry into illegal tabloid newsgathering methods that saw several journalists put on trial.

Last week, Meghan Markle called for a reform of tabloid culture after winning a second court victory against Britain´s Associated Newspapers for breach of privacy.

She said the industry "conditions people to be cruel and profits from the lies and pain that they create"...AFP