Civil action against News Of The World

Steve Coogan is suing the News of the World over claims it illegally hacked into his phone messages.

Although the Crown Prosecution Service has said it will bring no more criminal charges in the long-running scandal, Coogan has filed a civil writ seeking damages from the paper’s publishers and investigator Glen Mulcaire.

Coogan claims they intercepted his voicemail messages, and misused private information in 'grossly offensive' actions. He says that police told him Mulcaire had his phone number, account number and password among the 4,332 files he had.

The comedian claims in the High Court writ that his voicemails were intercepted between February 2005 and August 2006, but says he will not know the full extent of the hacking unless the paper discloses its records.

In August 2005 the News of the World claimed singer Courtney Love was pregnant with Steve Coogan's child – although both denied it and no child was born.

The UK Press Gazette reports that Coogan is demanding aggravated and exemplary damages; and seeking injunctions banning the paper, owned by Rupert Murdoch’s News Group Newspapers, and Mulcaire from using information they have already gleane.

He also wants to force Mulcaire to reveal who instructed him to hack the phone, so he can sue them, too.

Former MP George Galloway has also filed High Court writ for breach of privacy over the case, which stems from the time that Andy Coulson, the prime minister's chief media adviser, was editor of News Of The World.

Published: 13 Dec 2010