Sienna Miller & Phone Hacking

Overview

Actor Sienna Miller was one of the victims of widespread phone hacking and unlawful information gathering by journalists working for parts of the British press.

Her experience became a key part of the evidence presented to the Leveson Inquiry, where she described the scale of intrusion into her private life and the failure of press self-regulation to prevent or address it.

In particular, she has spoken about how The Sun discovered she was in the early stages of a pregnancy through unlawful means, she believes, and how this left her feeling forced to make a decision about her pregnancy before she was ready.

Miller’s case helped expose how illegal practices were treated as routine within some newsrooms, and how victims were left without meaningful protection or redress.

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Key facts

• Sienna Miller’s phone was repeatedly hacked by journalists without her consent.
• Private messages, personal information and confidential details were accessed and used in news reporting - including incredibly personal and sensitive information.
• She gave formal evidence to the Leveson Inquiry, describing the impact of press intrusion and the lack of effective accountability.
• Her testimony contributed to public understanding of how phone hacking operated as a systemic practice, not an isolated abuse.

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Further reading

The following Hacked Off posts provide primary material and context for Sienna Miller’s experience of phone hacking and its significance for press reform:

Phone hacking trial evidence‍

• Sienna Miler in trial [January 2014]: Sienna Miller: Hacked phone messages "feasible", trial hears
• Andy Coulson in trial [January 2014]: Andy Coulson: Sienna Miller hacked message “brilliant”, trial hears
• More of Coulson in trial [April 2014]: Coulson denies hearing voicemail hacked from Sienna Miller’s phone‍‍
• Settlements and accountability [December 2021]: The Sun accused of cover-up, as News UK settles hacking claim with Sienna Miller‍
• ‍Wider press culture and gendered intrusion [December 2021]: Sienna Miller and the press’ obsession with women’s reproductive choices
  

Systemic context from the hacking trial

• [January 2014] Former NOTW reporter insists Coulson hired him to hack phones‍
• [January 2014] NOTW reporter admits mistakes in phone hacking allegations

Significance of this story

Sienna Miller’s case demonstrated that phone hacking was not a one-off scandal, but a widespread and organised practice enabled by weak oversight and ineffective regulation, supplemented by other unethical and intrusive activities. In other words, the culture was rotten.

Her evidence showed how unlawful press behaviour can become normalised — and how difficult it is for victims to secure accountability, even when wrongdoing is clear.

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