The actor, an alleged hacking victim, has become the frontman for an organization called Hacked Off, which demands more oversight of the U.K. media. At the group's kickoff event in July, he said, "Grotesque abuses have been allowed to continue because of the cowardice of our politicians."
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LONDON – Hugh Grant has agreed to help fund and become a director of a not-for-profit company that will establish Hacked Off, a British campaign for press reform that was launched in the wake of the phone hacking scandal, as a full-time operation.
The Guardian reported Grant’s new role, which expands his involvement in press reform issues, on Tuesday, citing documents filed by the group. The actor has been the public face of Hacked Off since it launched last summer and will now help it launch a full-time operation.
Grant has been an outspoken critic of U.K. tabloids and the phone hacking scandal that has engulfed Rupert Murdoch‘s News Corp.
Earlier this year, Grant appeared at the Leveson Inquiry into the relationship between the media, politics and the public.
Hacked Off is now looking to increase its clout as it looks to push for real reforms. will be funded by unspecified donations from Grant and others and is exploring the possibility of asking for contributions from high-profile phone hacking victims who received money from News International, the Guardian said.
“All previous press inquiries have ended with the report being shoved on academics’ shelves, and we’ve got to do something different this time,” said Brian Cathcart, a former Independent on Sunday deputy editor who co-founded Hacked Off.
Joining Grant on the company’s board will be media lawyer Hugh Tomlinson, Charlotte Harris who has legally represented several phone hacking victims and others.
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