Hugh Grant calls for investigation of Rupert Murdoch's British tabloids

Hugh Grant has called on British police to launch a new criminal investigation into Rupert Murdoch's News Corp newspapers.

The actor joins growing calls for police to take action again following Prince Harry's historic settlement with the company, which included pleading guilty to phone hacking charges against The Sun.

Grant, who himself settled with NGN in 2024, speaking on BBC Radio 4 said the job was “not done in any way” following Prince Harry's case, adding that NGN had “gamed” the civil courts to suppress The accuser, and the criminal needs to be investigated.

“This is what they've done consistently over the last decade,” he said. “They've spent £1bn to make sure these things never come up in court… and you don't get proper judicial findings. I think what they're afraid of is that those findings will trigger new criminal investigations.”

Grant, who had accused The Sun of using private investigators to tap his phones and break into homes, said he settled because he could have faced a multimillion-dollar bill even if he won. NGN denied the allegations, saying the settlement was reached “without any admission of liability.”

For Grant, a new investigation was necessary because people who worked at The Sun at the time “still hold positions of responsibility”.

“A lot of the foot soldiers at these newspapers are now on our side … saying this is terrible,” he said. “We were punished, we went to jail, we paid fines, we lost our jobs. But the people directing it all are still there.”

Former politician Tom Watson, who also settled with NGN, said his legal team would submit a file to the Metropolitan Police, but police told the BBC there was no active investigation underway.

A spokesman told the BBC: “We are awaiting any correspondence from relevant parties and we will respond in due course.”

Earlier this week, Prince Harry and NGN reached a settlement believed to be worth more than $10 million. The company also issued an apology, acknowledging for the first time criminal activity on The Sun. However, the newspaper said in a follow-up statement that this was conducted by “private investigators, not journalists” working for the newspaper.

Send in quote to type Met Police Chief Constable Mark Rowley, from NGN, told LBC radio on Friday that “much of the material” in Prince Harry's civil lawsuit comes from phone hacking and illegal surveillance of Murdoch newspapers conducted more than a decade ago investigation.

“There have been a number of prosecutions, those investigations have been concluded and if they send us a lot of material we will reflect on that and make a judgment,” he said.