Katona and her ex claim phones hacked

Mr Justice Vos, who will assess compensation in the second round of the civil litigation at an estimated four-week trial now due not before May, was told yesterday that 68 claims were on the register.

Giving an update at London’s High Court, Hugh Tomlinson QC said that up to 40 more were likely to be added before the September 14 deadline, with total claims expected to be fewer than 300.

He added that 395 individuals had applied to the Metropolitan Police for disclosure and, of those, 124 had been accepted into the compensation scheme set up by News International, parent company of News Group Newspapers.

The judge, who was conducting the eighth case management conference in the proceedings, said that a three-day hearing starting on September 25 would consider the question of proportionality and the future conduct of the case.