Sarah Ferguson, the former wife of Prince Andrew; British singer-songwriter James Blunt; and Israeli television psychic Uri Geller are among the latest to strike a deal with Rupert Murdoch's News Corp over phone hacking
The three were among 17 hacking victims who settled on Friday with News Corp subsidiary News Group Newspapers over its campaign of illegal espionage, which set off a massive scandal when it was revealed in July 2011.
Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, was one of the victim’s of News Corp’s phone hacking scandal. File pic
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Others on the list include actor Hugh Grant whose settlement was first announced in December as well as actor Christopher Ecclestone, former government minister Geoffrey Robinson, TV presenter Jeff Brazier and singer Kerry Katona. Murdoch’s News of the World tabloid was at the centre of the scandal. Prosecutors say the paper’s senior management conspired to hack hundreds of victims’ phones, including senior government ministers, sports stars, Hollywood royalty, and even crime victims in a bid to win scoops and boost sales.
The scandal first broke in 2006, when two reporters were arrested for hacking into voicemails belonging to members of the royal family. But the paper engaged in an ambitious coverup effort, arranging secret payoffs and repeatedly lying to the press, the public, and parliament in a bid to bury the scandal.
The implicated executives including Andy Coulson and Rebekah Brooks, former confidants of Prime Minister David Cameron deny any wrongdoing. A lawyer for Ferguson said the duchess did not believe the settlement resolved all her concerns regarding snooping into her personal affairs. The size of the various settlements was not immediately disclosed, although previous deals have typically ranged from tens of thousands up to hundreds of thousands of pounds.
On Thursday, News Corp revealed that costs associated with the settlements, official inquiries, and myriad police investigations spawned by the scandal had taken another $56 million bite out of the New York-based company’s bottom line.
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