Sarah Ferguson, Hugh Grant and Doctor Who win substantial damages after having their phones hacked

A court in London has heard that Sarah Ferguson, the former wife of Prince Andrew, is one of more than 100 people who have received significant payouts in the wake of the News of the World phone hacking scandal.

Sarah Ferguson, the former Duchess of York, demanded a public apology from the newspaper’s publisher News Corporation, after reportedly having had her phone’s voicemail intercepted since 2000 to feed the tabloid’s appetite for juicy gossip.

Others who have received damages include Hugh Grant, former Doctor Who Christopher Eccleston and spoon-bender Uri Geller according to The Guardian.

The story of the British media’s penchant for phone hacking dominated Britain’s news headlines during 2011 and 2012, and has resulted in both criminal investigations and a government inquiry.

With such a high profile given to the…

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Graham Cluley •   @gcluley

Graham Cluley is a veteran of the cybersecurity industry, having worked for a number of security companies since the early 1990s when he wrote the first ever version of Dr Solomon's Anti-Virus Toolkit for Windows. Now an independent analyst, he regularly makes media appearances and is an international public speaker on the topic of cybersecurity, hackers, and online privacy. Follow him on Twitter, Mastodon, Bluesky, or drop him an email.