News International said on Tuesday it settled seven lawsuits over alleged phone hacking by reporters at the now-shuttered News of the World tabloid.
The Rupert Murdoch-owned company said it paid settlements to lawmaker Mark Oaten, TV presenter Ulrika Jonsson, and celebrities Abi Titmuss and Calum Best, reported AFP.
“NGN has agreed to pay appropriate sums by way of compensation and costs and have expressed regret for the distress caused,” a statement from the company reads.
Oaten, commenting to the BBC, said the “issue is finally resolved and I’m able to understand better the actions taken against me by the media.”
“I’m grateful to the current team at News International for trying to put wrongs right and settle this honorably,” he added.
In a separate development, CNN host Piers Morgan, the former editor of the Daily Mirror newspaper, vehemently denied that he knew more about phone hacking than he admitted to in prior statements.
“I was never directly involved,” Morgan told a hearing on Tuesday, according to the Telegraph. “This was dealt with through the news desk or the features desk so, like most editors, you just would not get directly involved.”
“I was never directly involved,” Morgan told a hearing on Tuesday, according to the Telegraph. “This was dealt with through the news desk or the features desk so, like most editors, you just would not get directly involved.”
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