Christopher Bisson receives public apology from News Group Newspapers Limited

Thomson Heath & Associates is pleased to announce that our client the actor Christopher Bisson, who is best-known for his roles in the hugely popular television soaps, Coronation Street, Shameless and Emmerdale and the film East is East, has settled his privacy claim against News Group Newspapers Limited (‘NGN’).

Christopher instructed this firm in relation to his phone-hacking claim against the NGN and this resulted in proceedings being issued against NGN in March 2017.

Between around 1999 and 2008, he experienced intrusion into his private life by journalists at the News of the World. He believes that this intrusion led to both him and his friends becoming paranoid and suspicious of one another and put those relationships under unnecessary strain.

NGN agreed to a Joint Statement in Open Court and to publicly apologise to Christopher for the distress caused to him by the invasion of his privacy by individuals working for and on behalf of the News of the World. It also agreed to pay a substantial amount of compensation for the distress suffered as well as his legal costs.

Yesterday, the Statement in Open Court was read in the High Court before Mr Justice Mann, the managing judge in the hacking litigation – Click here for the full statement.

Following this, Mr Bisson had this to say regarding the resolution of his claim:

“I am glad that today I have finally resolved my case with NGN. It has been a difficult journey, over many years, which began with an outright rejection of my case.

The actions of NGN caused me, my family and friends considerable distress. Relationships were damaged, friendships were lost and my integrity was questioned. It was painful.

I have been through every emotion on this journey to uncover the truth – from anger to despair and utter disbelief at NGN’s approach to my claim. I always believed that they tried to undermine and destroy me and my career. Thankfully it failed but I carry the scars to this day.

I am aware that I am a tiny part of a much broader operation, and I know that there are many who have suffered worse than I. Therefore while this settlement marks the end of the acrimony and it is time for me to move on, I do hope that one day the broader case against NGN will be heard and those responsible for the destruction of people’s lives are held accountable.

Ultimately, this isn’t about me. It’s about every individual’s right to privacy and the upholding of the law. The importance of both should not be underestimated. They are key to our democracy. It is for that reason that I am deeply troubled by the cancellation of Leveson 2.”

Christopher Bisson was represented by Mark Thomson, Emily Jenkins and Bella Ritchie.