Manchester United soccer star Ryan Giggs became the latest celebrity to take legal action against the News Of The World over allegedly hacking into his cellphone, his lawyer announced on Wednesday.
The 37-year-old - whom it was revealed last month by a British lawmaker was the married footballer who won a court injunction to keep details of an alleged affair secret - believes he is one of those whose phone was hacked between 2005 and 2006.
The London Met Police are presently heading up an investigation into the claims. In April, Giggs's team-mate Wayne Rooney said he had been contacted by detectives involved in the investigation.
In 2007, the first police investigation led to the convictions and imprisonment of then News Of The World royal editor Clive Goodman and private investigator Glenn Mulcaire, who was employed by the paper. Goodman received four months and Mulcaire six months.
Five alleged victims have reached out-of-court settlements with the newspaper, including celebrity publicist Max Clifford, who received a reported one million pounds. Most recently, actress Sienna Miller formally settled for 100 000 pounds in damages and costs after accepting an apology from the company for hacking into several of her cellphones.