Sienna Miller says The Sun used ‘blatantly unlawful means’ to find out about pregnancy

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Sienna Miller has said she believes that details of her pregnancy were obtained by the then editor of The Sun, Rebekah Brooks, using “blatantly unlawful means”.

As reported by The Guardian, Miller told a court that Brooks knew about her 2005 pregnancy at a very early stage.

“I was told at the end of July 2005, by my friend and publicist, that Rebekah Brooks had found out that I was pregnant,” said Miller, in an excerpt from a draft statement read out by her lawyer at the high court.

Miller believes Brooks acquired her medical records through a “blagger” journalist at The Sun, Nick Parker.

She also added that she thinks her voicemails were hacked “by journalists from The Sun” who were operating with the knowledge of “the editor and senior executives” at the outlet.

Miller’s lawyer David Sherborne said that “Miss Brooks is named repeatedly [in a public statement] as being heavily involved in these activities, as well as in the concealment of incriminating evidence”.

Brooks – who currently oversees all of Richard Murdoch’s British businesses as the chief executive of News UK – has previously been cleared of phone-hacking charges in a criminal trial.

The actor continued to say that she felt “The Sun took away her choice” in how to approach the pregnancy after the story became public.

The Guardian reports that there has been “no admission or finding of any wrongdoing on behalf of The Sun or any of those named”.

Miller said she had wanted to take the publication to trial over her claims, however, instead decided to accept a payout from Murdoch’s News Group Newspapers given the substantial legal costs of a public trial.

The court heard that the 39-year-old believes the pay-out she received is “tantamount to an admission of liability on the part of The Sun”.

The outlet has refuted this suggestion and continues to deny that any phone hacking occurred at The Sun. They claim that such illegal activity was confined to The News of the World.

There has been an extensive debate over what is allowed to be included in Miller’s public statement, which will be read out in court this morning (9 December).

Yesterday (8 December), Murdoch’s company settled a number of phone-hacking cases on the condition that there was no admission of wrongdoing at the newspaper.

Sean Bean, Shane Warne and Texas lead singer Sharleen Spitiri were among those who settled their cases and accepted damages.

These settlements ensure that the cases will not go to open court, where allegations could be discussed in detail.