Blunt settles phone-hacking action (From Lancashire Telegraph)

Blunt settles phone-hacking action

4:32pm Monday 17th December 2012 in National Entertainment News © Press Association 2013

James Blunt has settled his legal action over phone-hacking for "substantial" damages.

Law firm Carter-Ruck said in a statement that the star "has successfully settled his claim against News Group Newspapers over the hacking of his voicemail by the News of the World".

James was contacted by officers at Operation Weeting last year "to inform him that he was a victim of phone-hacking", said the company.

Carter-Ruck said James "has always been security conscious, in the knowledge that he was in telephone contact with serving members of the armed services who were on operations in Afghanistan and Iraq".

It added: "He had even changed his voicemail Pin in 2006 and so was shocked and concerned to learn that he had been targeted by the News of the World and that his privacy had been violated."

The singer issued proceedings against NGN in September 2011.

Announcing the settlement, Carter-Ruck said NGN "has agreed to pay a substantial sum in damages to Mr Blunt together with his legal costs".