NEWS CORP APOLOGIZES FOR HACKING ACTRESS’S PHONE

Ending a long and persistent battle against Rupert Murdoch’s powerful News Corp, actress Sienna Miller accepted £100,000 (about $160,000) from the corporation and an apology for hacking her voicemail in order to obtain information about her relationship with Jude Law that it published in its Sunday tabloid News of the World. The apology came to 15 paragraphs. The key one was this: “The information should never have been obtained in the manner it was, the private information should never have been published and [the News of the World] has accepted liability for misuse of private information, breach of confidence and harassment.” In her claim, Miller said that she had obtained information from Vodaphone that Glenn Mulcaire, a private detective working for the tabloid, had obtained PIN numbers for nine mobile phones used to acquire information for stories about her private life. Three of the PIN numbers for her own phones, three for those of her publicist, Clara Parkes, one for Law, another for Law’s assistant, Ben Jackson, and another for her friend, Archie Keswick. (Miller’s stepmother, interior designer Kelly Hoppen, is also suing the media organization, claiming that her phone was also hacked.)