The publisher of the Sun newspaper has set aside a further £128m to cover the cost of phone-hacking cases, apparently including the case brought by Prince Harry, which pushed the company deeper into the red.
News Group Newspapers, the publisher of the Sun and the defunct News of the World, said it hoped to approach the “tail end of litigation”.
Hundreds of celebrities have brought cases for voicemail interception over the past decade against the company. The News of the World newspaper was closed over the hacking scandal in 2011.
News Group forms part of Rupert Murdoch’s News UK arm, which has already paid out millions of pounds to settle claims from the likes of the actor Sienna Miller and the footballer Paul Gascoigne about the alleged activities of Sun journalists, ensuring the accusations are not heard at trial.
The latest accounts filed at Companies House show that News Group set aside £46.8m for claimants’ legal fees and damages relating to “voicemail interception and inappropriate payments” for the year to 3 July 2022, and a further £53m for future costs. The company also earmarked £27.5m for legal fees in legacy litigation related to phone hacking, and £955,000 in costs relating to investigations in the News of the World. Costs are up sharply from a provision of £49m in 2021.
The firm said the final cost “may or may not be significantly higher” depending on the course of the litigation.
The case brought by Harry is understood to be among those covered by the latest sum.
A News Group spokesperson said: “In 2012, an unreserved apology was made to all of those who had brought cases against the News of the World for voicemail interception. Since then, News Group has been paying financial damages to claimants.
“There are a number of disputed claims still going through the civil courts including some which seek to involve The Sun. The Sun does not accept liability or make any admissions to the allegations. It is of course common litigation practice for parties to reach a settlement before trial to bring a resolution to the matter for commercial reasons.”
It said the latest provision was higher than in 2021 after a glut of individuals rushed to meet a deadline to join the current tranche of claims.
News UK has attempted unsuccessfully to bring the legal proceedings to an end. However, a judge rejected its attempt to impose a final cut-off date for new cases, with hundreds of claims still in the pipeline.
The legal costs caused a widening in the firm’s loss before tax to £127m last year, up from £51m in 2021.
However, the UK arm will be reimbursed for the costs by Fox Corp in the US, as part of a deal agreed when Murdoch’s News Corp split from Fox in 2013.
