The Know Daily - Thursday 18 April 2024

_{Read in 5m 46s ∙ Listening to Nia Archives ∙}

How do hazel dormice cross the forest? Using seriously adorable mini rope bridges, thanks to a new initiative by Forestry England. The rodents tend to travel via treetops to avoid predators on the ground, but in the Forest of Dean, that was made harder by the removal of diseased ash trees. Thankfully, the new bridges are here to help them move about safely 🫡 

☎️ Hacked off

Actor Hugh Grant yesterday said that he had taken an “enormous” sum of money to settle his phone hacking claim against The Sun newspaper, despite wanting to fight on. So why didn’t he?

First things first - what did he allege?
Grant was suing News Group Newspapers (NGN) - The Sun’s parent company - claiming that journalists had used private investigators to tap his phone and break into his home to snoop on him. NGN denies the claims.

So why did Grant accept a settlement?
Because of a quirk of English civil law, says Grant. The Sun made the actor what is known as a Part 36 offer - and under these rules, even if Grant was victorious at trial, if the court awarded him damages that were any less than the settlement offer, he would have to pay the legal costs of both sides. 

Grant said he did not want to accept the settlement - preferring that the allegations be tested in court - but that he could not risk the potential costs. NGN said it admitted no liability and that the settlement was in the financial interests of both parties.

Isn’t the rule a bit problematic?
It depends on your perspective. As Associated Press explains, the civil court rule is intended to avoid “jamming up the courts”, while also reducing legal costs. But as The Guardian points out, it does create an “incentive” for those keen to avoid a public trial to offer more money that could ever realistically be awarded by a judge.

What’s the bigger picture?
Grant joins a number of other celebrities - including Sienna Miller and Paul Gascoigne - who have settled claims against the publisher. A full trial of some existing claims against NGN, including those brought by Prince Harry, is set to take place in January next year.