Statement in Open Court – Heather & Fiona Mills

Thomson Heath & Associates is pleased to announce that Heather and Fiona Mills have settled their privacy claims against Newsgroup Newspapers Limited. Heather and Fiona instructed this firm in relation to their phone-hacking claim against the newspaper which resulted in proceedings being issued against Newsgroup in March 2017.

Between around 1998 and 2008, the pair experienced strange activity with their phones as well as journalists turning up in unexpected locations, and intrusive private information appearing in the Defendant’s publications without any apparent identifiable source.  They believe that this, along with the publication of the articles complained of, had a seriously corrosive effect on their relationships with family and friends, as well as their extensive charitable work and campaigning, some of which can never be repaired.

Understandably both and Heather and Fiona are still profoundly upset to discover the sustained and repeated invasions of privacy by individuals working for or acting on behalf of the News of the World.

Newsgroup Newspapers Limited agreed to a Joint Statement in Open Court and to publicly apologise to both Heather and Fiona for the distress caused to them by the invasion of their 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 their legal costs.

The Joint Statement in Open Court was read in the High Court before Mr Justice Mann, the Managing Judge in the phone-hacking litigation –  click here to read the statement.

Heather & Fiona Mills were represented by Mark Thomson, Yinka McKay Wood, Bella Ritchie and Maya Mills.