Murdoch's British tabloids settle with 22 hacking victims

Rupert Murdoch's British tabloid publisher News Group Newspapers (NGN) has agreed to pay damages to 22 more victims of phone-hacking, London's High Court heard on Friday. The 22 claimants include television and radio presenter Jamie Theakston; Lisa Brash, a former girlfriend of singer Robbie Williams; and Eimear Cook, the ex-wife of golfer Colin Montgomerie.
"There will remain a substantial number of claims going forward," lawyer Hugh Tomlinson told the court. Media baron Murdoch was forced to close down the 168-year-old News of the World tabloid in July 2011 in the wake of allegations that its staff accessed the voicemail messages of a murdered schoolgirl and dozens of public figures. The court is due to sit again on Monday to consider the publisher's attempt to strike out the claim brought by Mary-Ellen Field, former adviser to model Elle Macpherson, on the basis that her messages were not intercepted.