Mirror’s hacking bill climbs to £60 million

Trinity Mirror has just set aside another £7.5 million to pay phone-hacking claims, taking the total payouts to £60 million.

Chief executive Simon Fox says the end of the scandal is in sight but admits some claims “are harder to settle than others”, especially when a no-win no-fee lawyer is involved.

That £60 million bill is a fraction of what hacking has cost rival NewsCorp, which prints The Sun. Fox said he would like the matter to close by the end of the year.

In the half-year to July 2, publishing revenue was down 10%. A 12% fall in print was partially offset by a 5% rise in digital. Trinity Mirror has also landed a five-year deal to print the Guardian and the Observer from 2018.

Fox said that the trading environment “remained volatile” but that the second half of the year will be better.

Supermarkets, which had previously cut back their ad spend in papers, are returning, Fox notes.

The shares dipped 0.5p to 94.5p today.