Kelly Hoppen settles phone-hacking claim against Mirror

Interior designer Kelly Hoppen has settled her phone-hacking claim against Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN).

Ms Hoppen, 56, has received undisclosed damages, an apology for the distress caused and her reasonable legal costs, from the group, Mr Justice Mann heard at London’s High Court on Friday.

The Jewish celebrity’s solicitor, Henry Fox, told the judge that, in February this year, MGN admitted the unlawful interception of her voicemail messages and that a number of articles between 2004 and 2006 were the product of it.

MGN’s solicitor, Kim Waite, said it accepted that the methods used to obtain private information about Ms Hoppen a decade ago should never have been employed.

Mr Fox said that the claim brought against MGN by Hilary Perrin, who from 2000 to 2006 was director of regional organisation for the Labour party and also director of the London Labour party, had also settled with the payment of appropriate damages, costs and an apology for the damage and distress caused.

He said that Ms Perrin’s voicemails were hacked in February, March and April 2004 and she was also targeted by private investigators on two occasions.

Ms Perrin had never sought publicity and was most distressed to think that MGN had potentially jeopardised her distinguished political career by intercepting private messages left by those who had placed their trust in her, he added.

Ms Waite said that MGN acknowledged that Ms Perrin’s information should never have been obtained or used in the manner it was.

Neither Ms Hoppen nor Ms Perrin were in court.