LONDON — Litigation against U.K. newspaper group Trinity Mirror alleging phone hacking can go ahead, The Guardian reported Wednesday, citing a ruling by Britain’s high court.
Civil cases have been filed by four people, including a soap opera actor, a former nanny for David Beckham and a former manager of England’s national soccer team.
Wednesday’s court decision was the latest sign that cases of alleged hacking could move beyond Rupert Murdoch‘s News Corp and put the publisher of the Daily Mirror and Sunday Mirror into the spotlight.
Among the people who have brought charges against the Mirror group are Coronation Street actor Shobna Gulati.
The Mirror publisher asked the high court to throw out two cases and dismiss evidence in the two others, The Guardian said. The court ruled that the claims can proceed to a full trial, it reported.
None of the claimants “pleads direct evidence of hacking … in the sense of direct first-hand evidence or records of particular hacking events,” the paper quoted from a judgment.
Trinity Mirror said in a statement that it “continues to contest the four claims vigorously.”
The decision came as the criminal trial on phone hacking and related charges against Rebekah Brooks, Andy Coulson and six others continued on Wednesday.
E-mail: Georg.Szalai@THR.com
Twitter: @georgszalai
