Trinity Mirror publishes open apology as it increases phone hacking payout fund to £12m
Trinity Mirror is to increase the pool of money it has set aside to pay compensation for those who have placed civil claims against the publisher to £12m while the company has published an open apology to victims of phone hacking practices that took place within it.
The publisher of the Daily Mirror and the Daily Record has seen its subsidiary MGN Limited admit liability for cases of intercepting voicemails against four individuals so far, as a result it has realised that the cost of finding a resolution to such claims could be higher than it first anticipated.
As a result, the original sum of £4m set aside, will be increased by £8m as the publisher anticipates whether or not new allegations will come to light and the potential financial impact that may have upon it.
It announcement follows the publishing of an open apology to victims of phone hacking by the Daily Mirror, which it will also publish in both the Sunday Mirror and Sunday People this weekend.
The apology stated: "We are taking this opportunity to give every victim a sincere apology for what happened." It added that phone hacking had "long since been banished from Trinity Mirror's business and we are committed to ensuring it will not happen again".
Those who have settled over phone hacking claims have included TV presenter Cilla Black, Eastenders actor Shane Ritchie and former England football manager, Sven-Goran Eriksson, alongside several other celebrity figures.
Trinity Mirror also forecast that it would be able to generate a reduction to its debt to below £20m having pre-paid £17m into the pension deficit which was due, while special dividends from Local World, its local newspaper publishing arm, of £12m have also improved its debt.
The company will released its annual results on 2 March.