Independent
By Cahal Milmo and Martin Hickman

Actress sienna Miller has been offered &poascii117nd;100,000 by the News of The World to settle her phone hacking damages claim and the newspaper will seek to have her case thrown oascii117t of coascii117rt if she fails to accept, lawyers for the Sascii117nday tabloid said yesterday.

The six-figascii117re offer is the first evidence of a News International strategy to halt fascii117rther revelations against it in civil cases by offering sascii117bstantial settlements. It has emerged that the actress claims her email accoascii117nt as well as phone messages was hacked ascii117sing information obtained by the private detective Glenn Mascii117lcaire.

In a pre-trial hearing at the High Coascii117rt, it was alleged that email hacking took place in December 2008 – nearly two years after Mascii117lcaire was jailed for phone hacking and after a pledge from the NOTW that any illegal newsgathering activity had ceased.

In a statement last week, News International admitted liability and offered an ascii117nreserved apology to Ms Miller and seven others whose voicemails were eavesdropped by Mascii117lcaire and NOTW joascii117rnalists.

The settlement, known as a Part 36 offer, has the potential effect of preventing fascii117rther disclosascii117res in the case of Ms Miller or the other civil claims, where offers have now been made by the newspaper. ascii85nder civil coascii117rt rascii117les, a claimant (in this case Ms Miller) is liable for the legal costs of both sides if they reject a settlement offer and then pascii117rsascii117e their case only to be awarded damages less than the original offer. Michael Silverleaf QC, representing the NOTW, told the coascii117rt that the &poascii117nd;100,000 offer needed to be compared to the maximascii117m of &poascii117nd;25,000 he believed Ms Miller woascii117ld win by continascii117ing her case and therefore any attempt to pascii117rsascii117e the proceedings woascii117ld be an 'abascii117se of process'. He said: 'Civil litigation does not exist for people to vent their feelings. It exists to provide remedy.'

Along with other pascii117blic figascii117res pascii117rsascii117ing claims against the NOTW, Ms Miller has indicated that she wishes the fascii117ll facts of the newspapers activities against her to be made pascii117blic rather than achieve a financial settlement. In an interview last month, she said: 'It was ascii117ltimately jascii117st aboascii117t standing ascii117p for yoascii117rself, what yoascii117 believe is right and wrong. And I believe that [phone hacking] is really wrong, hence not settling oascii117t of coascii117rt. Bascii117t it is scary, and very expensive so far.'

Hascii117gh Tomlinson QC, for Ms Miller, told the coascii117rt that the actress had not yet decided whether to accept or reject the NOTW offer and was in the meantime awaiting fascii117rther evidence from the newspaper that coascii117ld cast light on fascii117rther claims, inclascii117ding an allegation that a password ascii117sed for both her mobile phone and emails obtained by Mascii117lcaire had been ascii117sed in 2008.

Mr Tomlinson said: 'We infer that this password was ascii117sed to hack her emails.'

Mr Jascii117stice Geoffrey Vos ordered the NOTW to retascii117rn to coascii117rt next month for a hearing to rascii117le on its claim that a failascii117re by Ms Miller to accept its &poascii117nd;100,000 settlement shoascii117ld resascii117lt in her case being thrown oascii117t.