Former Liverpool FC director Ian Cotton is to bring a phone-hacking lawsuit against The Sun newspaper.
Cotton served in a variety of media rules during his 16 years at Anfield and was elevated to the role of Director of Communications in his final post, prior to leaving in 2012.
A High Court judge today granted the request for a civil court trial which will hear evidence from four alleged victims, including Merseyside comedian Les Dennis, of phone hacking by the publication in light of a substantial body of evidence.
Evidence against a number of convicted phone hackers, such as Greg Miskiw, Glenn Mulcaire and Paul McMullan, formed the basis of the quartet’s request for a trial and although such evidence did not directly constitute unlawful activity, Mr Justice Mann found that it was sufficient to call for a full court hearing.
The Sun has faced strong resistance from Merseyside since its infamous coverage of the 1989 Hillsborough disaster, which claimed the lives of 96 Reds supporters, under the front page headline ‘The Truth’.
Earlier this week, its former political editor insisted that he was ‘not sorry at all’ for the paper’s coverage of the aftermath of the tragedy in Sheffield.
Trevor Kavanagh made the comments on the day that the jury sitting into the new inquest into the disaster delivered a verdict that the victims were unlawfully killed.