Mirror Group settles dozens of celebrity phone-hacking claims

Dozens of celebrities have received damages and an apology from Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN) over phone-hacking.

Lord Jeffrey Archer, Dame Mary Archer, ex-footballer Kevin Keegan, actress Patsy Kensit and former home secretary Charles Clarke were among 44 people whose cases were settled at London's High Court.

It took more than two hours for the agreed statements settling their actions for misuse of private information to be read out.

It is understood some of the settlements exceed the £260,250 record damages awarded to actress and businesswoman Sadie Frost following a High Court trial in 2015.

None of the well-known names involved - which also included singer Sophie Ellis-Bextor, actor Colin Salmon and actress Gillian Taylforth - attended the hearing.

Solicitor Gerald Shamash told the court that "significant damage and distress" had been caused to Lord Archer and Dame Mary, while Mr Keegan's solicitor said the former England manager had suffered a "devastating intrusion".

Callum Galbraith, representing Patsy Kensit, said MGN's actions caused the actress distress during "difficult times" when her marriage to Liam Gallagher was breaking down, when her wedding to Jeremy Healey was cancelled and during health scares suffered by her and her son.

Meanwhile, barrister David Sherborne said the activities of MGN were a source of "enormous stress" for Mr Clarke and his family and caused them to "drastically adapt" their way of life.

MGN has reportedly put aside £52.5m to pay damages and legal costs relating to phone hacking.

In December, its parent company Trinity Mirror said it had made "good progress" on settling civil claims.

It said: "Although there still remains uncertainty as to how these matters will progress, the board remains confident that the exposures arising from these historic events are manageable and do not undermine the delivery of the group's strategy."