Sienna Miller: 'I love you' message to Craig misconstrued

Sienna Miller has hit out at "titillating" press reports of her relationship with Bond actor Daniel Craig, as she revealed to the phone-hacking trial that it was "a very brief encounter".

The News of the World ran a story about her alleged affair with Craig in 2005 while she was in a relationship with his friend, fellow actor Jude Law.

Giving evidence at the Old Bailey via videolink from New Orleans while filming in the US, the actress said: "This is a very difficult and uncomfortable period of my life to discuss.

"To be gossiped about and analysed and vilified. Whether or not I was in a relationship with Daniel Craig at the time, it was a very brief encounter. He was my best friend. My saying I love you was nothing new.

"It has been turned into a titillating piece of information, I really regret it was turned into something to be analysed. It was at a time when we had been briefly involved."

Sienna Miller has told the phone-hacking trial she has had some "negative experiences" while communicating with the media, and regretted that her private life has been analysed in public during the trial.

When asked if she had ever courted publicity by Timothy Langdale QC, defending former News of the World editor Andy Coulson in the trial, Ms Miller said: "Absolutely never, not once. Never ever. Hand on my heart, I've taken an oath."

The Layer Cake star said she once pleaded with a News of the World journalist to ease off her then-boyfriend Jude Law when they met at a pre-Baftas party, asking him to "give Jude a break". She added: "I appealed to his better nature and this was then abused."

Thanking her for giving evidence, judge Mr Justice Saunders told her: "I am very sorry what has gone on in this court and reported in the press has caused you distress. We have tried to limit what has been said in court."

Coulson is among seven defendants who deny conspiring to hack phones and conspiring to commit misconduct in a public office.

Read: Jude Law 'approved' story of Miller's affair with Craig

Actress Sienna Miller has confirmed at the phone-hacking trial that she left a voicemail message for James Bond star Daniel Craig ending "I love you," but said it has been misinterpreted.

The message was allegedly intercepted by the News of the World to source a story run by the Sunday tabloid that the two stars were having an affair at a time when she was with Jude Law.

The message said: "Hi. It's me. Can't speak. I'm at the Groucho with Jude. I love you."

But speaking via videolink from New Orleans in the US, Miller told the Old Bailey that her voicemail to Craig was not an "important declaration of love" and denied it meant she was in a relationship with the actor.

"The thing that's been slightly misconstrued about this voicemail message is the fact that I said I love you and that this was some incredibly important declaration of love," she told Court 12. "I've always ended my phone calls to Daniel saying 'I love you'."

Ms Miller, though, confirmed to the court that she and Craig had had a "brief encounter" and the story emerged "at a time when we had been briefly involved".

Former tabloid reporter Dan Evans said that a Sienna Miller voicemail message was played in the News of the World office and ex-editor Andy Coulson was among those who heard it, a jury heard.

He claimed that after picking up a message from the Hollywood actress' voicemail, it was "all hands to the pump" to get the story of an alleged Miller/Law/Craig love triangle, the court heard.

Timothy Langdale QC, the defence lawyer for Coulson, claimed that his client could not have heard the tape because he was not at work or even in London that day.

Evans insisted that Coulson definitely heard the tape but added that maybe his recollection of which day this was on was "flawed."

He told the court: "These events happened a long time ago and there are salient things in my mind about what I did. I am not here to make things up like I listened to Daniel Craig's voicemail. Why would I bother?

"This is not a fun experience for me. I had the guy's phone. I taped a message."

Former News of the World reporter Dan Evans was a "rather risky hacker" who "wanted to get caught out" when he was writing stories about the break-up of Hollywood actors Sienna Miller and Jude Law, a jury heard.

Timothy Langdale QC, the defence lawyer for the former editor of the tabloid Andy Coulson, was cross-examining Evans at the Old Bailey and said: "You seem to be a rather risky hacker at this time."

Evans replied: "You might even say in a weird way that I wanted to get caught."

The former tabloid reporter also said he doubted a hacked call on designer Kelly Hoppen's voicemail was a "tearful" message from step-daughter Miller, saying it may have been from her sister.

He told the hacking trial: "I have a nagging doubt that it was not Sienna. I don't actually remember the voicemail. I remember what I took from it and what I drafted from it."

He noted there had been "Sienna Miller-based" information from it, felt she was upset and getting support from her family.

The court has been hearing about the interviews Dan Evans agreed to give to officers from the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act in July 2012.

Before three days of interviews he was told "we are not offering you a contract, we cannot offer any guarantees....we are not making you any promises what we really want is the truth."

But the jury heard that Evans agreeing to give the police full disclosure "didn't achieve desired result".

The police asked for a further interview and Evans agreed that he hoped this meant immunity under section 71 was "still on the cards".

"You were willing to do just about anything to get your section 71 immunity weren't you?" Mr Langdale said.

Evans replied: "I was prepared to do anything to move forward in the situation I was in, yes."

He admitted to his solicitor at this time (July 2012) that "full immunity is the only thing I am after."

Dan Evans accepts that he came to realise that he would get immunity from prosecution if he could give evidence that implicated other journalists.

Taking him through notes that had been made by his solicitor during conversations, Timothy Langdale QC questions his true motivation for making allegations against Andy Coulson, the former editor of News of the World and later spin doctor to David Cameron.

Evans agreed that he realised during discussions between his solicitor and the police that he would need to give evidence against senior journalists at the News of the World to get immunity.

Mr Langdale said that he had effectively asked his solicitor to go to the police and get "a shopping list" of what they would need before they gave him immunity.

Asking him about the occasion when Evans claims he played a hacked voice message from Daniel Craig's phone, he said "I suggest to you that this just isn't true?" To which Evans replied "Yes it is."

Evans admitted that while they were talking about potential evidence that he could give against senior people at the paper, he had mentioned his meeting with Andy Coulson at the Aldwych Hotel.

Evan's lawyer had written in the notes "It was obvious to me that there were no killer lines about screwing phones."

Evans admits that he said to his lawyer "my ultimate goal would be that there is no evidence against me to mount a prosecution," adding that he would rather not have to give evidence against former colleagues saying "if it's not necessary I would rather not do it".

Dan Evans - the former reporter from the News of the World - accepts that he was hoping to avoid prosecution over the hacking scandal.

Under cross examination by Timothy Langdale QC, he agreed that he hoped by co-operating with the police he might not be charged.

He said that until this point he had been lying, he described his statements given on oath during a civil case brought by Kelly Hoppen as "cobblers".

Evans, who has admitted to hacking more than 1,000 phones, said that he felt under tremendous pressure to lie while he was working at News International, who owned News of the World.

He said: "There was an enormous conspiracy which I'd been caught up in...I was towing the line, the party line, the company line."

He admitted that when he lied about his involvement in hacking Kelly Hoppen's phone - an offence he now accepts he committed - he was "a very frightened man".

He said he was caught between, "tabloid headlines, the prime minister and highly paid lawyers."

Dan Evans also accepted that Andy Coulson may not have said the word "brilliant" after he was allegedly played an illegally obtained voice message.

Journalist Dan Evans described to the court Jude Law's reaction to his then-girlfriend's affair with his friend Daniel Craig.

He said: "Jude was obviously bouncing with anger about it. The PR performed a character assassination on Sienna.

"The story was run past the PR in its entirety. She approved it, and Jude approved the story to go in. He was obviously very unhappy at the time."

Yesterday, Law gave evidence to the trial for more than an hour.

He told the jury there was an "unhealthy" amount of press interest in his private life.

The jury were sent home and the trial adjourned until 10am tomorrow.