New set of phone-hack claims launched in UK

A new set of 16 phone hacking claims, mostly by British celebrities, have been launched in the UK high court against media mogul Rupert Murdoch-owned 'Sun' tabloid.
Lawyers for News Group Newspapers, a division of the media tycoon's UK print business, told a High Court hearing this week that a "new flank" of hacking claims had been opened against the daily tabloid.
The court heard that of a total 16 claimants, mostly British celebrities, five allege that articles published in the 'Sun' were obtained by the hacking of their phones.
The others say they were targeted by the now defunct 'News of the World' (NoW) tabloid.

A decision on whether the claims against the 'Sun' can proceed to trial will be delayed until a later hearing before April,the 'Guardian' reported.
Lawyers for those making claims against 'NoW' said that stories produced by the paper's features section were the work of more than one individual.

News UK, the rebranded name of Murdoch owned News International, is reported to have already spent more than 300 million pounds in the fallout from phone hacking at 'NoW'.
The group has always claimed that there was no hacking activity atthe 'Sun'.
A spokesperson for News UK said: "Following many years of investigation, there were no charges against the 'Sun' or its employees for voicemail interception.

Today, certain claimants seeking financial settlements arising from activities at the 'News of the World' have made unsubstantiated claims against the 'Sun'.
If the court permits such claims to proceed, the 'Sun' will defend them vigorously.
The hearing comes more than a year after the former 'Sun' editor Rebekah Brooks was cleared of all charges related to phone hacking at 'NoW'.
Brooks has since returned to become chief executive of the paper's parent company, News UK.
A civil trial over the claims against the'NoW'has been scheduled for April, with a selection of test cases from a possible 16 claims to be taken up.