Hugh Grant accuses tabloid press of break-ins and phone hacking

London, Nov 22 (ANI): Actor Hugh Grant has claimed that break-ins and phone hacking had been used to publish details of his private life, emphasising the need to stand up against media bullying.

The 51-year-old star claimed that in 1995, one newspaper had carried a report specifying the inside of his fourth floor flat in London shortly after it had been broken into.

"The front door had been shoved off its hinges. Nothing had been stolen, which was weird. Shortly after that, a detailed account of what the -interior of my flat looked like appeared in one of the papers," the Daily Express quoted him as saying.

"I remember thinking, 'Who told them that?' Was that the burglar, or was that the police?" he said.

The Four Weddings And A Funeral star told the Leveson Inquiry into media ethics that the break-in happened around the time of his arrest in Los Angeles after being caught with a prostitute, adding that it provoked a 'press storm'.

"This was at a time when there was a lot of press outside all the time desperate to get in," he said.

"It was the middle of the summer and I know they were listening. It was four floors up and they could hear one or two of the rows I was having at the time, so I know they were desperate to get some kind of access."

The inquiry was also told how he experienced press intrusion over his relationship with Chinese actress Tinglan Hong, mother of his baby daughter, when pictures were taken with a telephoto lens.

He accused newspapers of invading his privacy by dishonestly obtaining the story that he had recently become a father. (ANI)