Arab Press

بالشعب و للشعب
Sunday, Aug 10, 2025

Spice Girl among stars to begin phone-hacking claims against Murdoch empire

Spice Girl among stars to begin phone-hacking claims against Murdoch empire

Melanie Chisholm, Boyzone’s Shane Lynch and S Club 7’s Hannah Spearritt latest to allege voicemail interception
A group of 1990s pop stars are among the latest individuals to launch phone-hacking cases against Rupert Murdoch’s media empire, as the scandal that has dogged the company for more than 15 years continues to rumble on at the high court.

Melanie Chisholm from the Spice Girls, Shane Lynch from Boyzone, Hannah Spearritt from S Club 7, and Steps’s Ian Watkins and Lee Latchford-Evans have recently filed claims against the company.

The cases are a reminder that, even as Murdoch attempts to revive his reputation in the UK with the launch of his national television channel talkTV, his business is continuing to pay out millions of pounds a year to settle historical cases of illegal voicemail interception.

The company is also embroiled in a phone-hacking case brought by Prince Harry, who has alleged that his voicemails were targeted by the Sun and News of the World. Murdoch’s lawyers have accepted that Harry’s phone was hacked by reporters at the News of the World, but say he was made aware of this in 2006, meaning he has missed the six-year statute of limitations on bringing such cases. They deny allegations that his phone was targeted by reporters working for the Sun.

Murdoch’s decision to hire Piers Morgan as the lead presenter of talkTV will also refocus attention on the use of phone hacking when Morgan was editor of the Mirror. Phone hacking was widely practised by Mirror reporters during this era, and Morgan has previously discussed listening to voicemails left by Sir Paul McCartney. However, he has always strongly denied any personal involvement or knowledge of illegal information-gathering.

The new cases by the 1990s pop stars have been filed against Murdoch’s News Group Newspapers subsidiary, the legal owner of the Sun and the now defunct News of the World. Murdoch has burnt through hundreds of millions of pounds in legal fees over the last decade settling similar cases. This has ensured that claims are not tested in potentially embarrassing public trials.

News UK declined to comment on the latest cases.

Despite repeated claims in court hearings that phone hacking was widely used at the Sun, the company has repeatedly insisted that the practice did not take place at the daily tabloid. Even settlements that are made specifically in relation to allegations of wrongdoing at the Sun are usually accompanied by a statement from News UK insisting that such hacking was limited to the News of the World.

However, the Lib Dem MP Simon Hughes recently won a case explicitly relating to articles published by the Sun during the editorship of Rebekah Brooks, who is now in charge of all Murdoch’s British media outlets. Asked about Brooks’ involvement in the story, Hughes said outside court that he would not name names, but “it is clear from all I have seen that it went to the top of the Sun”.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Arab Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Armenia and Azerbaijan to Sign US-Brokered Framework Agreement for Nakhchivan Corridor
British Labour Government Utilizes Counter-Terrorism Tools for Social Media Monitoring Against Legitimate Critics
WhatsApp Deletes 6.8 Million Scam Accounts Amid Rising Global Fraud
Texas Residents Face Water Restrictions While AI Data Centers Consume Millions of Gallons
India Rejects U.S. Tariff Threat, Defends Russian Oil Purchases
United States Establishes Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile
Thousands of Private ChatGPT Conversations Accidentally Indexed by Google
China Tightens Mineral Controls, Curtailing Critical Inputs for Western Defence Contractors
JPMorgan and Coinbase Unveil Partnership to Let Chase Cardholders Buy Crypto Directly
British Tourist Dies Following Hair Transplant in Turkey, Police Investigate
WhatsApp Users Targeted in New Scam Involving Account Takeovers
Trump Deploys Nuclear Submarines After Threats from Former Russian President Medvedev
Germany’s Economic Breakdown and the Return of Militarization: From Industrial Collapse to a New Offensive Strategy
Germany Enters Fiscal Crisis as Cabinet Approves €174 Billion in New Debt
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
President Trump Diagnosed with Chronic Venous Insufficiency After Leg Swelling
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
Kurdistan Workers Party Takes Symbolic Step Towards Peace in Northern Iraq
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
Russia Formally Recognizes Taliban Government in Afghanistan
Saudi Arabia Maintains Ties with Iran Despite Israel Conflict
Mediators Edge Closer to Israel-Hamas Ceasefire Agreement
Germany Seeks Taliban Deal to Deport Afghan Migrants
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
Robots Compete in Football Tournament in China Amid Injuries
China Unveils Miniature Insect-Like Surveillance Drone
Marc Marquez Claims Victory at Dutch Grand Prix Amidst Family Misfortune
Iran Executes Alleged Israeli Spies and Arrests Hundreds Amid Post-War Crackdown
Trump Asserts Readiness for Further Strikes on Iran Amid Nuclear Tensions
Qatar Airways Clears Backlog of Passengers Following Missile Threats
Iran's Parliament Votes to Suspend Cooperation with Nuclear Watchdog
Trump Announces Upcoming US-Iran Meeting Amid Controversial Airstrikes
Trump Moves to Reshape Middle East Following Israel-Iran Conflict
NATO Leaders Endorse Plan for Increased Defence Spending
U.S. Crude Oil Prices Drop Below $65 Amid Market Volatility
“You Have 12 Hours to Flee”: Israeli Threat Campaign Targets Surviving Iranian Officials
Oman Set to Introduce Personal Income Tax, First in Gulf
Germany and Italy Under Pressure to Repatriate $245bn of Gold from US Vaults
Trump Praises Iran’s ‘Very Weak’ Response After U.S. Strikes and Presses Israel to Pursue Peace
WATCH: Israeli forces show the aftermath of a massive airstrike at Iran's Isfahan nuclear site
We have new information and breaking details to share about what is shaping up to be a historic air campaign tonight
Six Massive Bombs Dropped on Fordow; Trump: 'A Historic Moment for the U.S., Israel, and the World'
×