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Sienna Miller tells Leveson how paparazzi spat at her
Actress, whose phone was hacked, was 'relentlessly pursued' by photographers
ANOTHER DAY at the Leveson Inquiry and another celebrity has told of the appalling treatment they suffered at the hands of the media. Actress Sienna Miller said the press had made her life "hell" and recalled how, for several years, she was "relentlessly pursued" by a group of around a dozen paparazzi.
They would verbally abuse and even spit at her, she said. "I think the incentive is really to get as strong as a reaction as possible.”
The actress now has a court order against photographers and said that her life had "changed dramatically" as a result.
Miller was also the subject of phone hacking and was given a £100,000 payout by the News of the World earlier this year. She told the inquiry that when stories about her appeared in the paper she had no idea where they came from and she ended up living in a world of "complete anxiety and paranoia".
She went on: "It was baffling at how certain pieces of information came out. Horribly I accused my friends and family of selling stories and they accused each other as well."
The Daily Telegraph reports how she told the inquiry that private investigator Glen Mulcaire set up a "project" on her. He had phone numbers and voicemail pin codes, the numbers of friends and the password to her email account.
Media lawyer Mark Thompson, who has represented many victims of press intrusion including Miller, also gave evidence. He said the Press Complaints Commission was flawed and the media did not want it to work.
He spoke about the press pack in the same way as one might talk about a herd of animals, and said that he had seen them chasing Miller, whom he once advised to move to Paris to escape them.
"It is truly frightening to see a news mob in pursuit," he said. "The pursuits are dangerous. I've recommended clients film it." ·
