Charlotte Church - Charlotte Church 'Sickened' By Phone Hacking

The former child star, who has accepted almost a million dollars in damages, was targeted by the News of the World after she turned 16 in 2002.

On Monday (27Feb12), London's High Court heard 33 stories resulting from the interception of Church and her parents' mobile phone voicemail messages were published by the tabloid, and after settling her lawsuit, the Welsh singer accused the newspaper's staff of harassment.

Speaking outside the High Court, she said, "Today is an important day for me and my family. I brought this legal claim with my parents, as many others have done, because I wanted to find out the truth about what this newspaper group has done in its pursuit of stories about our family. What I have discovered as this litigation has gone on has sickened and disgusted me.

"Whatever I have had to go through, (my parents) have suffered as well. They have been harassed, put under surveillance, and my mother was bullied into revealing her private medical condition, for no other reason than that they are my parents."

She added, "I am obviously happy with the result, in one sense... I would also like to make it clear that we were never in this for money. Money could never mend the damage that was done."

Mum-of-two Church said she intends to use the $960,000 (£600,000) she and her parents will receive in damages and legal fees to "protect myself and my children from further invasions of our privacy".