The British actor had been suing the newspaper for almost a year for illegal collection of information. With the case scheduled to go to trial in January 2025, a financial agreement was reached between the two parties.
The actor indicated that he would donate the money to groups denouncing "the worst excesses of our press." NGN's lawyer indicated that an agreement had been reached "recently," adding that it was in the financial interest of both parties not to pursue a costly trial. "The agreement was made without acknowledgment of responsibility," said an NGN spokesperson, adding that the company had offered Grant a huge sum of money to prevent the matter from going to court. The case was scheduled to be heard in January 2015, but was adjourned until January 2018, when the actor said he would have liked to see the case go to trial. But due to the rules governing civil trials, the actor would have had to pay the legal costs of both parties if the court awarded him damages lower than the amount proposed by NGN.