News International boosts phone hacking settlement fund to £100m

News International has allegedly set aside a £100m legal fund to serve as settlements for the victims of phone hacking.

Rupert Murdoch's company, currently facing civil litigation actions involving about 55 people, is believed to have added to the initial £20m it invested in the fund upon its creation in April.

The newspaper group's legal team are in the final stages of negotiation in several of the cases and, according to The Independent, settlements for those involved are to be announced imminently.

News International will see several test cases - including actions from Jude Law and Paul Gascoigne - go to trial in February, prompting a senior lawyer to comment that its £80m cash injection "indicates they are serious to avoid further damage in court".

Metropolitan Police have claimed that around 800 people were hacked by News International, meaning that the company could still face many more claims for damages.

News International has so far settled 13 cases and is believed to have paid out between £7m and £10m in total. Sources at the company say it is committed to reaching speedy resolutions "with those who have been affected".

Ulrika Jonsson, Abi Titmuss, Calum Best and Sienna Miller are among those to have received settlements from News International so far.