Fern Britton settles phone hacking claim with News of the World publisher

The ex-This Morning host claimed NGN had published private details about her professional and personal life, including a News of the World ‘exclusive’ about her gastric band operation

Fern Britton on the cover of Good Housekeeping August Issue 2023 (Good Housekeeping / David Venni)

Fern Britton has settled her High Court claim against the publisher of the defunct News of the World over allegations of phone hacking, a judge has been told.

The ex-This Morning co-host had brought legal action against News Group Newspapers (NGN), alleging its journalists intercepted her voicemail messages and “obtained her personal information by deception”, her lawyer said.

Ms Britton claimed NGN had published private details about her professional and personal life, including a News of the World “exclusive” about her gastric band operation, causing her “damage and distress”, and having a “deep impact on her family relationships, career and mental health”.

Ellen Roberts, solicitor for Ms Britton, told a hearing in London on Tuesday that she had accepted NGN’s offer “to resolve her claim on terms confidential between the parties and which involve the payment of substantial damages”.

NGN makes no admission of liability in relation to her allegations of voicemail interception and other unlawful information gathering at The Sun newspaper, the court was told.

Ben Silverstone, representing NGN, said it offered its “sincere apologies” to Ms Britton for “the distress caused to her by the invasion of her privacy by individuals working for or on behalf of the News of the World”.

He said the publisher “acknowledges that such activity should never had taken place and that it had no right to intrude into the private life of (Ms Britton) in this way”.