Sienna Miller wins £100,000 pay-out from News of the World

(PA)

Sienna Miller yesterday declared victory in her phone-hacking damages claim against the News of the World after she accepted a £100,000 payout and an admission that the paper had used information from eavesdropped voicemails to publish articles on her relationship with fellow actor Jude Law.

Lawyers for the 29-year-old actress said she had been vindicated in her long-running High Court battle with Rupert Murdoch's News International after the Sunday title admitted liability for repeatedly hacking into her phones and causing her "enormous anxiety and distress" over a 12-month period.

But the unexpected deal, which will be finalised next week and includes an agreement by the NOTW to disclose to Ms Miller previously withheld documents outlining the extent of its wrongdoing, is also the first sign of success for the paper in its strategy to draw a line under more than 24 phone-hacking claims from public figures, including former Cabinet minister Tessa Jowell, actor Steve Coogan and ex-MP George Galloway.

Yesterday it emerged that James Hewitt, who became famous for his affair with Princess Diana, is also set to sue the NOTW, after the Metropolitan Police showed him evidence suggesting his phone had been targeted.

Yesterday's settlement will have important implications for the remaining claims if the NOTW successfully argues its six-figure payout to the actress, whose case was widely accepted to be one of the worst, is a "significant overestimate" of what she might have won in a full trial.

In the second day of a pre-trial hearing before Mr Justice Geoffrey Vos, lawyers for Ms Miller said they were happy to settle the claim because the NOTW had accepted all her complaints about the activities of the paper and its private investigator Glenn Mulcaire. Ms Miller's lawyers had put an upper limit of £100,000 on the compensation they were seeking.

Hugh Tomlinson QC, for the star, said: "Her primary concern is not how much money is awarded but to know exactly what the extent was of the hacking which took place and, having obtained an order which will enable her to know that – so far as it is knowable – that meets all her requirements from this action."

Hugh Tomlinson QC, who represented Miller, told a judge recently: "When private infor-mation is involved, the kind of relief people are looking for goes beyond simply monetary compensation."