Hugh Grant has referred to as for police to open a brand new legal investigation into the house owners of The Solar, announcing the process isn’t completed “in any way” after Prince Harry settled his privateness declare on Wednesday.
Information Team Newspapers (NGN) agreed to pay “really extensive damages” and apologised to the Duke of Sussex for “critical intrusion” via The Solar between 1996 and 2011, and admitted “incidents of illegal job” have been performed via non-public investigators running for the newspaper.
Grant additionally settled a privateness declare in opposition to NGN in 2024, announcing he can have confronted a invoice of as much as £10m even though he had gained.
The actor stated each incidents had proven a civil case used to be “no longer the proper device” to get to “the actual fact” of what took place on the newspaper.
Former deputy Labour chief Lord Tom Watson, who additionally reached a agreement with NGN on Wednesday, stated a criminal staff could be passing a file to the Metropolitan Police.
The power stated on Friday there have been no energetic investigations into allegations of telephone hacking or comparable issues.
“We look ahead to any correspondence from the events concerned, which we can reply to sooner or later,” a spokesperson stated.
Grant stated NGN had “gamed” the civil courts to silence complainants and a legal investigation used to be wanted.
“That is what they have completed persistently during the last 10 years,” he advised BBC Radio 4’s As of late programme on Friday.
“They have got spent £1bn to verify this stuff are by no means checked out in courtroom… and you aren’t getting right kind judicial findings.
“I feel what they are scared of is that the ones findings would cause a brand new legal inquiry.”
Within the civil courts, claimants may finally end up paying the prices in their fighters if the damages award is not up to they’ve been presented to settle – even though they win.
Grant had accused The Solar of the usage of non-public investigators to faucet his telephone and burgle his area, and stated he settled as a result of he may no longer face the imaginable prices of continuing to trial.
NGN had denied the allegations and stated the agreement used to be reached “with out admission of legal responsibility”.
The actor referred to as at the Crown Prosecution Provider (CPS) and the Metropolitan Police to analyze.
The CPS advised the BBC legal investigations have been issues for the police.
Grant additionally argued a brand new investigation used to be wanted as a result of individuals who have been on the paper on the time that non-public investigators who performed “illegal job” have been advised have been nonetheless in “positions of significant energy”.
NGN apologised to Prince Harry for critical intrusion into his non-public existence via The Solar that came about between 1996 and 2011.
The paper’s editor all over a part of that point, Rebekah Brooks, is these days the CEO of Information UK. She used to be cleared of conspiracy to hack voicemails in a 2014 trial.
“A large number of the foot infantrymen for the ones newspapers have now come over to our aspect… to mention that is terrible,” the actor stated.
“We now have been punished, now we have been to jail, now we have paid fines, now we have misplaced our jobs.
“However the individuals who commanded all this, they are nonetheless there.”
In the meantime, Grant stated the federal government must release section two of the Leveson Inquiry into press requirements in gentle of the Duke of Sussex’s case.
The 2012 inquiry into the tradition, follow and ethics of the clicking used to be introduced within the wake of the telephone hacking scandal.
“That is one thing that used to be again and again promised via Labour towards sufferers of press abuse, over and over again.
“And now all of sudden appear to have disappeared from their precedence listing now that they are in govt.”
On Thursday, Lisa Nandy, Secretary of State for Tradition, Media and Recreation, dominated out opening a 2d degree of the inquiry, announcing it used to be not “are compatible for goal”.
“A long inquiry that used to be formulated in a distinct technology prior to a large number of the instances that now we have observed since rise up from what occurs on-line, which is the place a large number of other people eat information these days,” Lisa Nandy advised the BBC.
The BBC has contacted The Solar and Information UK for a reaction.
