In 2018, MGN admitted liability for misuse of private information by intercepting voicemails in 2004 and other unlawful information techniques between 2004 and 2006, also admitting that two of the 45 articles were produced by unlawful information gathering.
Hannah Gornall, representing Clunes – whose real name is Alexander Clunes – said: “The claimant claimed that his voicemail messages were hacked into by MGN’s journalists.
By intercepting his voicemails, MGN would have been privy to messages of a highly personal nature.
“He suffered distress and embarrassment as a result of the misuse of his private information.