Singer Charlotte Church Settles Phone Hack Claim

Lawyers have told Britain’s High Court that singer Charlotte Church has settled her claims against the publisher of the News of the World over alleged phone hacking.

The settlement announced in court Thursday with the defunct Sunday newspaper comes only days before the case was to be tried at London’s High Court. Terms of the settlement were not immediately disclosed.

News International, a division of News Corp., has tried hard to keep phone hacking cases from going to trial. It has launched its own compensation program, overseen by a respected former judge, and has paid out millions in out-of-court settlements for about 60 cases.

Photo: AP Photo
Charlotte Church arrives at an awards ceremony in central London.

Church has told a judge-led inquiry of intense media intrusion into her family’s private life.