Ronan Keating has accepted “substantial damages” from News Group Newspapers (NGN) over phone-hacking.
In April 2020, the Boyzone star launched legal action against the publisher of the now-defunct newspaper News of the World, claiming his voicemails had been intercepted by their journalists.
According to the Press Association, the singer identified “suspicious” articles published between 1996 and 2011, which contained private information.
At a High Court hearing in London, Ronan’s lawyer Ellen Gallagher said: “Mr Keating claimed that his voicemail messages were intercepted by the defendant’s journalists and consequently these journalists were privy to private and confidential voicemail messages left on his mobile telephone by others, such as his family and friends.”
“Mr Keating further asserted that, as a result of the defendant’s publications, he became suspicious as to who might be the source of the private information that was being published in the defendant’s newspapers.”
“Mr Keating alleged that the publication of the articles generated distrust which impacted on his relationships and caused him considerable distress and upset.”
The court was told that Ronan agreed to a settlement with NGN, which means the publishee must pay “substantial damages” to the 44-year-old, and cover his legal costs.
NGN’s lawyer Ben Silverstone said: “The defendant is here today, through me, to offer its sincere apologies to the claimant for the distress caused to him by the invasion of his privacy by individuals working for or on behalf of the News of the World.”
“The defendant acknowledges that such activity should never have taken place and that it had no right to intrude into the private life of the claimant in this way.”
Commenting on the settlement, Ronan said in a statement: “I am delighted NGN has now accepted responsibility for publishing countless articles about my and my family’s private life that should have remained private.”
“For many years I was suspicious as to how my private information was being obtained and I am overjoyed that I can now put this episode behind me and move on.”
