[Smithy]

The Sun recorded a loss of £68m last year amid falling print sales and the enormous cost of phone-hacking claims against its parent company from figures including Sir Elton John and Heather Mills.

Rupert Murdoch’s News Group Newspapers, which publishes the Sun and retains liability for the activities of the News of the World, spent an enormous £54m on legal fees and damages related to the illegal interception of voicemails.

The figures, which cover the 12 months to July 2019, were revealed in accounts filed this weekend. They show that more a decade after the phone-hacking scandal began, the company is still spending an eighth of its revenue dealing with the fallout, as new cases involving the likes of Prince Harry continue to be filed at the high court.

Lawyers for phone-hacking victims have previously used pre-trial hearings to claim that phone hacking was widespread at the Sun but these cases have always been settled before going to trial, avoiding the need for the claims to be tested in court.
Settlements between News Group Newspapers and phone hacking victims usually include a statement that it was journalists at the News of the World, not the Sun, who were responsible for intercepting voicemails. The company has always said voicemail interception was limited to the defunct Sunday newspaper and did not take place at the Sun.