Forum Views ()
Forum Replies ()
Read more with google mobile :
News of the World faces rush of phone hack claims
|
Edition:
U.S.
Article
Comments (0)
Follow Reuters
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
YouTube
Read
Late budget deal avoids costly shutdown
|
9:24am EDT
WRAPUP 1-Late U.S. budget deal avoids costly shutdown
3:55am EDT
FACTBOX-Details of deal reached to keep US government running
1:53am EDT
Anna Hazare wins anti-graft bill demands, ends hunger strike
5:22am EDT
Egyptians turn anger on army in Cairo protest
8:53am EDT
Discussed
125
Reid says Republicans want shutdown to close clinics
121
U.S. to reach debt limit by May 16: Geithner
113
Obama, Congress struggle to find budget deal
Watched
Wall St. dominated by oil swing
Fri, Apr 8 2011
Israel kills Hamas commander in strike
Fri, Apr 8 2011
Fifty years after Gagarin, Russia still looks skyward
Thu, Apr 7 2011
News of the World faces rush of phone hack claims
Tweet
Share this
By Tim Castle
LONDON (Reuters) - Rupert Murdoch's UK news arm faces a flood of fresh compensation claims and could be exposed to criminal prosecution after admitting its role in a long-running phone hacking scandal, lawyers said on Saturday.
News...
Email
Print
Related News
News of the World admits phone hacking liability
Fri, Apr 8 2011
UK says Murdoch's BSkyB deal unconnected to hacking
Fri, Apr 8 2011
News International names 8 hacking victims
Fri, Apr 8 2011
News Int liability admission under 10 cases-source
Fri, Apr 8 2011
WRAPUP 2-Austria's AMAG, Perform Group complete IPO pricing
Thu, Apr 7 2011
Analysis & Opinion
The SEC comes round to private markets
Press faces royal wedding day dilemmas
Related Topics
Entertainment »
Fashion »
People »
Stocks
Actress Sienna Miller and British politician Tessa Jowell in a combination image.
Credit: Reuters/Files
By Tim Castle
LONDON |
Sat Apr 9, 2011 10:19am EDT
LONDON (Reuters) - Rupert Murdoch's UK news arm faces a flood of fresh compensation claims and could be exposed to criminal prosecution after admitting its role in a long-running phone hacking scandal, lawyers said on Saturday.
News International, parent company of Britain's top-selling News of the World tabloid, said on Friday it would admit liability and pay compensation in eight cases -- although many more believe they were targeted.
The admission was an about-turn from the media group's previous denial that it knew journalists were hacking the phones of the royal family, politicians, celebrities and sports stars, blaming a handful of "rogue reporters" for the scandal.
Those who will receive an "unreserved apology" from the group, part of Murdoch's global media empire News Corp, include actress Sienna Miller and politician Tessa Jowell.
"There will be a massive flood of people contacting lawyers," said lawyer Charlotte Harris of law firm Mishcon de Reya.
Harris, acting for five of the 24 individuals with active court cases against the News of the World, told Reuters some of her clients had already been contacted by News International and were considering their options.
"People (whose phones) have been intercepted, people who have had their privacy infringed, on case by case basis must be given proper compensation," Harris said.
Analysts said the media group's move was an attempt to draw a line under the affair and limit potential financial costs as News Corp tries to push ahead with its planned $14 billion purchase of British satellite pay-TV operator BSkyB.
Settling all the cases could cost the group as much as 40 million pounds ($66 million), said media lawyer Rod Dadak, a partner of law firm Lewis Silkin which represents a number of potential phone hacking litigants.
News International has declined to comment on media reports it has set aside half that amount, 20 million pounds, for compensation payments.
"It's a black hole. So 20 million pounds may be substantially too little, it could be double that," Dadak told Reuters, noting that the media group has already made individual settlements in the affair of up to a million pounds each.
Dadak said News International was now itself at risk of a corporate criminal prosecution, including for potential offences under Britain's Regulation of Investigatory Powers act, which covers illegal phone interception.
"This is Murdoch's Watergate because the cat is out of the bag. Two or three people have taken the rap but the powers-that-be must have known or turned a blind eye to what was going on. It couldn't be more serious," Dadak said.
Police have reopened an investigation into the hacking scandal and earlier this week arrested two journalists, former senior News of the World editor Ian Edmondson and a man identified as the paper's chief reporter Neville Thurlbeck.
Lawyer Mark Lewis of Taylor Hampton Solicitors, with four active court cases against the tabloid, said the current compensation claims were just the "tip of the iceberg."
1
2
Next
Entertainment
Fashion
People
Tweet this
Share this
Link this
Digg this
Email
Reprints
We welcome comments that advance the story directly or with relevant tangential information. We try to block comments that use offensive language, all capital letters or appear to be spam, and we review comments frequently to ensure they meet our standards. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters.
Comments (0)
Be the first to comment on reuters.com.
Add yours using the box above.
Social Stream (What's this?)
© Copyright 2011 Thomson Reuters
Editorial Editions:
Africa
Arabic
Argentina
Brazil
Canada
China
France
Germany
India
Italy
Japan
Latin America
Mexico
Russia
Spain
United Kingdom
United States
Reuters
Contact Us
Advertise With Us
Help
Journalism Handbook
Archive
Site Index
Video Index
Reader Feedback
Mobile
Newsletters
RSS
Podcasts
Widgets
Your View
Analyst Research
Thomson Reuters
Copyright
Disclaimer
Privacy
Professional Products
Professional Products Support
Financial Products
About Thomson Reuters
Careers
Online Products
Acquisitions Monthly
Buyouts
Venture Capital Journal
International Financing Review
Project Finance International
PEhub.com
PE Week
FindLaw
Super Lawyers Attorney Rating Service
Reuters on Facebook
Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests.
NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.
Other News on Saturday, 9 April 2011 Peru run-off to pit Humala against Fujimori: poll
|
Protesters pack Cairo square, pile pressure on army
|
At least 10 Iranian exiles killed in clashes in Iraq
|
Ten killed in Nigerian violence ahead of poll
|
House votes against FCC open Internet rules
|
Google's Page makes first changes to management
|
Steve Wozniak says would consider return to Apple
|
YouTube launches live streaming page
|
NXP not for sale, would consider a rich offer: CEO
|
EA shoots for Masters to lift golf game sales
|
American Idol: 5 theories on Pia Toscano's shock ouster
|
First book of John Lennon letters to be published
|
Ben Affleck eyeing role in Great Gatsby
|
News of the World admits hacking UK celebrity phones
|
Katherine Heigl to produce, star in HBO movie
|
Real Housewives of Washington D.C. get the axe
|
UK singer Pete Doherty given jail warning
|
Weinstein Company responds to sabotage claims
|
Theater review: 'Company'
|
Ivory Coast's Gbagbo regains ground
|
Japan to stop pumping radioactive water into sea
|
Leftist Humala woos ethnic vote, widens lead in Peru
|
Israel kills Hamas commander in Gaza strike
|
Deadly bombing mars new attempt at Nigerian poll
|
Egypt military beats protesters, fires shots
|
Google seals ITA deal but antitrust review looms
|
Pregnant Tina Fey to host Saturday Night Live
|
Social Network actor lands role in new Batman
|
Prince to play 21-night residency in Los Angeles
|
How Arthur's alcoholics have changed
|
Gucci Mane arrested for pushing woman out of car
|
New fighting erupts in Libya
|
Gunman kills five in Dutch shopping mall shooting
|
Syrian forces fire at mourners after mass funeral
|
Yemen pulls envoy from Qatar in row over Gulf plan
|
Iraqi cleric warns of violence if U.S. troops don't go
|
U.S.-Pakistan intelligence operations frozen since January
|
Sidney Lumet, director of classic films, dies: report
|
News of the World faces rush of phone hack claims
|
All Headline News | Breaking News and Headline
"Latest Breaking News
"Latest Breaking News
"Latest Breaking News
"Latest Breaking News
"Latest Breaking News
"Latest Breaking News
"Latest Breaking News
"Latest Breaking News
"Latest Breaking News
"Latest Breaking News
"Latest Breaking News
"Latest Breaking News
Greece at new risk of being pushed off euro
Bodies of missing Tenn. mom, Jo Ann Bain, and daughter found
Female Breasts Are Bigger Than Ever
AMD Trinity Accelerated Processing Units Now in Volume Production
The Avengers (2012 film), made the second biggest opening- and single-day gross of all-time
AMD to Start Production of piledriver
Ivy Bridge Quad-Core, Four-Thread Desktop CPUs
Islamists Protest Lady Gaga's Concert in Indonesia
Japan Successfully Broadcasts an 8K Signal Over the Air
ECB boosts loans to 1 trillion Euro to stop credit crunch
Egypt : Mohammed Morsi won with 52 percent
What do you call 100,000 Frenchmen with their hands up
AMD Launches AMD Embedded R-Series APU Platform
Fed Should not Ignore Emerging Market Crisis
Fed casts shadow over India, emerging markets
Why are Chinese tourists so rude? A few insights