London: UK's leading newspaper group 'Trinity Mirror' that publishes three tabloids have for the first time accepted involvement in the phone-hacking scandal and apologised to four celebrities, including Indian-origin soap actress Shobna Gulati, who had sued the group. The group that publishes Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror and Sunday People tabloids, admitted some of its journalists were involved in phone-hacking and agreed to pay compensation to four people, who sued the group for hacking of voice-mails. Actor Shane Richie and Lucy Benjamin, Gulati and BBC creative director Alan Yentob are among those who received an apology. Six other phone-hacking claims have already been settled by the group. They relate to former England manager Sven Goran Eriksson, footballer Garry Flitcroft, actor Christopher Ecclestone, showbusiness agent Phil Dale, Richie's wife Christine Roche and Abbie Gibson, a former nanny of David and Victoria Beckham. A further 19 claims are registered at the High Court and another 10 claimants have indicated they will bring proceedings against the group. The company is thought to have set aside between 8 to 9 million pounds to settle phone hacking claims and legal costs.

"The company today confirms that its subsidiary MGN Ltd has admitted liability to four individuals who had sued MGN for alleged interception of their voice-mails," Trinity Mirror said in a statement today. "MGN has apologised to those individuals and agreed to pay compensation. The amount of that compensation will be assessed by the courts. "The company can also confirm that six other voice-mail interception claims have already been settled for agreed sums," the statement added. The Mirror Group had first got embroiled in the phone hacking scandal in March 2013 when detectives from Operation Weeting had arrested four journalists over allegations that phone–hacking was widespread at the Group. The phone-hacking scandal in the UK has already led to the unceremonious closure of Rupert Murdoch's 'News of the World' tabloid and an 18 month long jail term for its former editor Andy Coulson. Initially, it was believed that 'News of the World' only hacked phones of celebrities, politicians and members of the British Royal Family, but an detailed enquirer revealed that the phones of murdered British teen, family member's of deceased British soldiers and victims of the 7 July 2005 bombings had also been hacked.