Hugh Grant Calls for Police Investigation Into Rupert Murdoch’s U.K. Tabloids After Prince Harry Settlement: ‘The People Who Commanded All This, They’re Still There’
Hugh Grant has called for the U.K. police to open a new criminal investigation into Rupert Murdoch’s News Group Newspapers.
The actor joins a growing chorus of people who, in the wake of Prince Harry’s historical settlement with the company — which included admissions of guilt into phone hacking at The Sun newspaper — are now calling for renewed police action.
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Speaking on BBC Radio 4, Grant — who himself settled with NGN in 2024 — said the job was not done “by any means” after the Prince Harry case, adding that NGN had “gamed” the civil courts to silence complainants and that a criminal investigation was needed.
“That’s what they’ve done consistently over the last 10 years,” he said. “They’ve spent £1 billion to make sure these things are never looked at in court… and you don’t get proper judicial findings. I think what they’re terrified of is that those findings would trigger a new criminal inquiry.”
Grant had accused The Sun newspaper of using private investigators to tap his phone and burgle his house, but said he settled because he could have faced a multi-million dollar bill even if he had won. NGN had denied the allegations, saying the settlement was reached “without admission of liability.”
For Grant, a new investigation was necessary because people working at The Sun at the time were “still in positions great power.”
“A lot of the foot soldiers for those newspapers have now come over to our side… to say this is awful,” he said. “We’ve been punished, we’ve been to prison, we’ve paid fines, we’ve lost our jobs. But the people who commanded all this, they’re still there.”
Earlier this week, Prince Harry and NGN reached a settlement believed to be worth more than $10 million. The company also issued an apology that, for the first time, admitted to criminal activity at The Sun.
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