Sir Elton John, Liz Hurley and Heather Mills settle phone hacking claims

Sir Elton John, Elizabeth Hurley and Heather Mills have come to an agreement over phone hacking claims against The Sun and the News of the World.

Their lawyers confirmed the settlement against News Group Newspapers (NGN) days before a trial was to start at the High Court in London, Sky News reports.

They did not reveal what the terms were or how much the celebrities had been awarded - but NGN has repeatedly said it "makes no admission of liability" for The Sun.

Ms Hurley and the Mills sisters claimed their voicemails had been intercepted and unlawful information gathered at The Sun and the now-defunct News of the World.

Sir Elton and his film producer and director husband's claim was for "misuse of private information" by the two papers.

If the trial had gone to court NGN would have had to answer questions about allegations that those activities were "widespread" at The Sun.