I'm seeking funding to bring a civil action for "Misuse of Private Information " (a "phone hacking claim") against News Group Newspapers (publishers of the now closed News of the World and the Sun) for phone hacking and other unlawful intrusions.

In the mid and late 1990s I — and many of my friends and family — were targeted by the Murdoch press because I was a high profile actor, singer and entertainer.

I appeared in the TV series Grange Hill and London's Burning and also had several top thirty hits as a singer.

My career was on the up, but I believe the Murdoch papers used illegal means to spy on me, hack my phones and use private investigators to target me and my family and friends. 

The News of the World mounted a sting operation against me and even targeted me while I was defending myself during the prosecution that followed the paper's entrapment. 

As a result of this I was, I believe wrongly, convicted of supplying drugs to the reporter, jailed for nine months, and lost my career and my livelihood..

I have been trying to clear my name ever since.

Murdoch's papers have entrapped many celebrities in the same way that they ensnared me, including the DJ Johnnie Walker.

They also caught the singer Tulisa Contostavlos in the same way. However during her trial in 2014, the prosecution's star witness, the "Fake Sheik" Mazher Mahmood, was caught lying on oath and the trial collapsed. He was later convicted of perverting the course of justice and himself jailed for 15 months.

I now believe that the News of the World and the Sun hacked my phones and those of my family, friends and associates, and targeted us using other illegal techniques. I further believe that Mahmood has consistently failed to tell the truth about what he did and how he did it — in my case and in the case of other victims as well as at the Leveson Inquiry.

I seek funding to sue News Group Newspapers — who are the responsible legal entity — to clear my name and bring those responsible to justice. 

My lawyer, James Heath of the law firm Atkins Thomson, has considerable experience of bringing successful civil cases against newspapers for defamation and privacy, including against those who practised hacking and other illegal activities against their victims.

For me this is not about really compensation and damages. It's about clearing my name and reputation and seeking justice after over 20 years.

Thank you for taking the time to read about my case.

I hope I can count on your support!