Editor tells the Leveson Inquiry paper paid Steve Whittamore 'substantial sum of money'

The Mail on Sunday continued using a private detective for 18 months after he was raided in an investigation into the illegal trade of personal information, the Leveson Inquiry heard today.

Two weeks ago, the Daily Mail ran an editorial praising the "impressive Tory backbencher" Dominic Raab, the MP for Esher and Walton, and in April it reported with obvious approval his views on a European Court decision to withhold the names of judges who had ruled against the British Government on the issue of prisoners' rights. "It adds insult to injury – the lack of transparency only compounds the lack of accountability," Mr Raab, pictured, complained.

A lawyer for Hugh Grant has criticised the Mail on Sunday after the paper accused the actor of making "mendacious smears" in his evidence to the Leveson Inquiry.

The publisher of the Mail on Sunday yesterday denied Hugh Grant's allegations at the Leveson Inquiry that key details obtained by the paper about his personal life could only have been obtained by the illegal interception of his voicemails.

Followed by Supplemental Witness Statement

Journalists should not be allowed to give evidence anonymously to Lord Leveson, the publisher of the Daily Mail is arguing.

A lifestyle consultant who worked for former Labour Prime Minister Tony Blair and his wife Cherie has accepted "substantial" libel damages from a national newspaper, a High Court judge was told today.

Associated Newspapers, publishers of the Daily Mail, has prepared a new red-top Sunday tabloid to fill a void in the market left by the closure of the News of the World by media rival News International.

The owner of the Daily Mail suffered a surprise fall in advertising revenues at its national and regional titles last month and warned of the ongoing effects of the "volatile and uncertain" markets this year. Shares in Daily Mail & General Trust (DMGT) closed more than 7 per cent lower after the company released its half-yearly financial report yesterday.

The publisher of the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday said it had slashed its regional newspaper workforce by another 8 per cent in the past quarter as revenues and circulation continued to fall.