Hugh Grant, the British actor who told a media-ethics inquiry the press had become “toxic” in its pursuit of celebrity gossip, sued News Corp. (NWSA)’s U.K. unit over claims its News of the World tabloid hacked his phone.
The lawsuit was filed yesterday in London, his lawyer Mark Thomson said in an e-mail. Grant, 52, joins Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, and 34 other victims who lodged claims yesterday, racing to beat the deadline for the civil suit which won’t begin before May 1.
Grant, who starred in the comedy “Notting Hill,” told the inquiry in November that phone hacking was probably used by other publishers. He said he’d suffered numerous media intrusions, such as a break-in at his apartment in 1995 and tabloids running stories about private medical treatments.
The now-defunct tabloid targeted some of the best-known celebrities, including U.S. actors Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie and England soccer player Wayne Rooney, prosecutors said in July. Rebekah Brooks, the former chief executive officer of News Corp.’s U.K. publisher, and seven others were charged with conspiring between 2000 and 2006 to hack the phone messages of more than 600 people.
READ MORE: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-09-14/hugh-grant-sues-news-corp-over-phone-hacking-by-u-k-tabloid.html
