Report: News Int’l. Ups Fund to Settle Illegal Hacking Claims to $155 Million

The British arm of News Corp has increased the legal fund it will use to settle civil litigation cases brought by victims of phone hacking to £100 million ($155 million) from £20 million [$31 million], the Independent newspaper reported on Thursday.

Rupert Murdoch’s News International has earmarked the money to settle several high-profile cases, with some settlements expected to be well over £1 million [$1.55 million] apiece, said the newspaper, citing sources close to the situation.

A News International spokeswoman called the £100 million figure “purely speculative”.

News International has settled legal claims by a number of high profile public figures but is still negotiating a host of further claims after it admitted hacking the phones of celebrities, politicians and victims of crime.