The British actor Hugh Grant has managed to settle a lawsuit against the publisher of the newspaper "The Sun," owned by Robert Murdoch, over allegations that journalists used private investigators to tap his phone and burgle his home, he said on Wednesday.

Grant, along with Prince Harry, son of King Charles, was suing the News Group Newspapers (NGN) for allegedly gathering illegal information on a large scale, including wiretaps, burglary, and "leaking" confidential information about him.

Grant is renowned for films like "Love Actually," "Paddington 2," and "Notting Hill," and he has become a prominent activist for press reform since the phone tapping scandal emerged over a decade ago, recently joining Harry.

His case was one of several lawsuits that were set to go to trial in the High Court in London in January, but the actor stated he has agreed to settle with NGN.

"The news group claims to be completely innocent of the things that The Sun was accused of," Grant said during a post on X. "As is common with completely innocent people, they are offering me an enormous amount of money to keep this matter out of court."

NGN stated that the settlement was agreed "without any admission of liability." A spokesperson for NGN said, "It's in both parties’ financial interest not to proceed to a costly trial."

Grant previously sued NGN regarding the now-defunct News of the World tabloid, which was settled in 2012, after NGN issued an apology to victims and Murdoch's media empire closed the paper following a violent public backlash over the hacking.

NGN has always denied any wrongdoing by staff at The Sun, having settled more than 1,300 claims - in addition to about 300 others through its compensation scheme - without any admission of liability concerning that paper.

However, the settlement of Grant's lawsuit, which focused exclusively on the alleged misconduct at The Sun, raises questions about the sustainability of this entrenched position.

The spokesperson for NGN said, "The Sun does not bear responsibility or make any admissions regarding these allegations."

Grant stated that he did not want to settle and wished to hear his accusations tested in court, but he noted that if he were awarded less in damages after trial than NGN has offered him now, he would be liable for both parties' legal fees.

The actor wrote, "Robert Murdoch's lawyers are extremely expensive," adding that he would spend the money on lobbying groups like Hacked Off, which campaigns against press intrusion.

"So, even if all the allegations are proven in court, I would still be liable for costs approaching £10 million. I’m afraid I feel ashamed at this point."

The settlement may reduce the chances of NGN facing trial at all over allegations of illegally gathering information - despite Harry's ongoing lawsuit and the prince repeatedly speaking about his "mission" to cleanse British journalism.

Harry and other claimants last month sought to drag Murdoch into the case, alleging that he is personally involved in covering up misconduct, and a ruling on their request is still pending.

NGN says claimants are using lawsuits as a means to attack the tabloid press and that the allegations against current and former staff are a "disgraceful and mocking assault on their integrity."

On Wednesday, NGN lawyer Anthony Hudson asked the court to instead order that the currently scheduled full trial set to start in January determine whether the claimants should have filed their lawsuits against the publisher earlier.