NOTW phone hacking case heads for court

CIVIL LAWSUITS launched against Rupert Murdoch's tabloid rag News of the World (NOTW) over phone hacking are heading to court, according to reports.

The BBC reports that the High Court Judge, Justice Vos has approved a number of cases and suggested that, although they will directly involve only a few alleged victims including Sienna Miller and Andy Gray, these trials could have implications for as many as 89 other plaintiffs.

As the News of the World has admitted to the charges, the court's findings could be seen as a foregone conclusion, but Vos added that of most interest will be how large the reparations pot is and how far it will extend.

"The most important thing for the claimants is to have a guide as to what damages they may be entitled. Otherwise we will be going on forever. Some people may want to but I don't," he said.

"At the bottom of all this is a claim for damages and the most important thing for the claimants is to have a guide as to what damages they may be entitled."

The Financial Times said that Vos expects to see no more than four cases, but added that there are some 30 lawyers working on behalf of phone hacking victims in the courtroom, which suggests that there might be some pressure to hear from more plaintiffs.

The judge is keen to push on with his cases while the Met Police pursue their own investigation, which seems fair given the amount of work it has to do to finally investigate the NOTW scandal.

For example, under current observation is a notebook from NOTW private detective Glenn Mulcaire, who is now in prison. Perhaps if Scotland Yard had not chosen to mishandle this case in the first place it would not find itself with such a heavy workload.

But then, with suggestions in the Guardian that media mogul Rupert Murdoch's parent company News International has a history of paying for special police privileges, this story could run and run. µ