Sir Elton John has joined a new class action lawsuit against the publisher of The Sun and defunct News of the World over an alleged phone-hacking scandal.
Sir Elton and top chef Gordon Ramsay are among 63 alleged victims who have issued a bid for compensation at the High Court in London.
Bosses at News Group Newspapers already faced claims from 28 people who also allege their voicemails were hacked during a ruthless and unethical news-gathering campaign, which led to the closure of the News of the World in 2011.
More than 1,000 people, including celebrities Hugh Grant and Charlotte Church, have already settled with the company.
The latest claims include stories published by The Sun.
Singer Sophie Ellis-Bextor is also among the people taking action.
Meanwhile, Harry Potter star David Tennant’s lawyers at Collyer Bristow issued a claim for compensation at the High Court in London last Thursday (30Mar17).
They claimed their celebrity clients, also including racing driver Eddie Irvine, had been left with no alternative than to go after News UK executives, who owned the News of the World, following the closure of a compensation scheme.
In their paperwork, the lawyers state the News of the World “admitted and apologised for hacking into the voicemails of a number of high-profile individuals” and opened a compensation scheme in 2011 as an alternative to litigation, but that was closed “after less than 18 months”.
The phone hacking scandal led to the Leveson Inquiry into press ethics and three police investigations into alleged corruption.
