BGT’s David Walliams ‘upset and angry’ by Mirror group phone hacking

Walliams said many of his relationships had been damaged or destroyed by the conduct of journalists working for Mirror Group Newspapers.
David Walliams was “extremely upset to learn he had been a victim of voicemail interception”, the court heard
PA

Britain’s Got Talent judge David Walliams was “upset and angry” when he discovered journalists had intercepted his voicemails, he told the High Court hearing today as he and other stars settled phone hacking claims.

Mirror Group Newspapers has admitted its journalists targeted the Little Britain comedian , offering an apology in open court this morning and agreeing to pay out “substantial” damages.

Roddy Chisholm Batten, representing Walliams, read a statement outlining the damage to the star’s personal life from hacking and newspaper intrusion.

He said Walliams was “extremely upset to learn he had been a victim of voicemail interception”, especially as he had collaborated with the newspaper group on projects such as the Pride of Britain awards.

“He is upset and angry by the lengths MGN went to invade his private life”, Mr Batten said, telling the court Walliams had suffered “distress and embarrassment” from newspaper articles about his romantic relationships.

“There was a very significant impact on both his personal life and professional life”, the lawyer continued. “Many relationships were damaged or destroyed as a result of MGN’s conduct. This is a source of huge regret to Mr Walliams.”

Police told Walliams he had been targeted after his name and personal details were found among notes made by Sunday Mirror journalist and confessed phone hacker Dan Evans.

He sued for damages, claiming he had been a victim between 2003 and 2010 and identifying 45 articles he believed had come from unlawful activity.

Also settling phone hacking claims today were Doc Martin star Martin Clunes, his Men Behaving Badly co-star Caroline Quentin and her husband Sam Farmer, EastEnders star Sam Womack and her actor husband Mark, Coronation Street actor Antony Cotton, and former Emmerdale actress Roxanne Pallett.

Pallett said she was “appalled and very upset” when she realised she had been targeted, saying she is “still impact by the intrusion to this day”.

In statements to the court on behalf of Clunes, Quentin, the Womacks, and Cotton, it was said MGN journalists “would have been privy to personal messages left on (their) phones, or left by (them) for others such as family and friends.”

The newspaper group has offered an “undertaking not to intercept the claimants voicemail messages, pay compensation to the claimant, and join in a statement to apologise to the claimant for misuse of private information.”

Richard Munden, for the publisher, told the court: “MGN accepts the methods which were use to obtain private information about the claimants through the unlawful obtaining of (their) personal information should never have been employed.

“MGN is here today to offer apologies to the claimants for the distress caused to (them) by obtaining private information about (them), and using that information.”

As well as agreeing to pay damages and costs, MGN promised “it will not in the future intercept voicemail messages”.

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