Kelly Hoppen settles hacking case with News International

Interior designer Kelly Hoppen has accepted £60,000 in damages from News International over charges that her phone was hacked by the News of the World.

Hoppen's lawyer Mark Thomson told the High Court in London that the settlement was for "misuse of private information and breach of confidence".

He confirmed that News International and its News Group Newspapers subsidy had agreed to pay the money to Hoppen and cover her legal costs.

Hoppen is among a number of public figures to bring phone hacking cases against Rupert Murdoch's newspaper publisher.

Her case against the firm hinged on a number of articles published in the News of the World that contained "intrusive and private information".

Thomson said that Hoppen was informed by police in February that there was evidence to suggest that she had been targeted by Glenn Mulcaire, the private investigator jailed for phone hacking on behalf of the News of the World.

"The claimant did not know the source of this information at the time of publication and often could not understand how it was possible for the News of the World to obtain such private information," he told the court.

"In 2009, as a result of the claimant's long-held concerns, her solicitors, Atkins Thomson, wrote to the Metropolitan Police Service asking whether they had any evidence that the claimant had been targeted by News Group Newspapers Limited in 2004-2006."

The court heard that News Group Newspapers had admitted liability in the case in April.

In January, the High Court is due to hear claims from a handful of test cases involving public figures who say they were victims of phone hacking, such as footballer Ashley Cole.

News International is facing more than 60 legal writs in phone hacking cases, including various high-profile figures such as Paul Gascoigne and Jude Law.