It’s been over a decade since a scandal broke involving Rupert Murdoch-owned media companies, including News Group Newspapers. The nature of the scandal? A host of celebrities had their phones hacked — and the resulting investigation led to arrests and resignations. As a 2014 BBC report on the scandal pointed out, another effect was the closure of News of the World, a tabloid which had been in operation for 168 years.
While the scandal is no longer as prominent as it once was, its repercussions are still deeply felt — and Murdoch’s media companies are still settling legal claims filed by celebrities whose phones were hacked. Writing at The Guardian, Jim Waterson has news on the latest high-profile group of people to take legal action.
The Guardian‘s report notes a number of prominent musicians, including “Melanie Chisholm from the Spice Girls, Shane Lynch from Boyzone, Hannah Spearritt from S Club 7, and Steps’s Ian Watkins and Lee Latchford-Evans.”
Recent settlements in the phone hacking case have been paid to the likes of Elton John, Noel Fielding and High Grant. Waterson writes that the money paid out by Murdoch and his companies is so that “claims are not tested in potentially embarrassing public trials.” For now, the longevity of this case continues on.
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