Simon Clegg is among several personalities taking legal action against The Sun over claims of phone-hacking Simon Clegg played a leading role in London's successful bid for the 2012 Olympics and Paralympics while serving as chief executive of the British

Former British Olympic Association (BOA) chief executive Simon Clegg has been given permission to carry on with a High Court action in London against The Sun over allegations of phone hacking after the newspaper failed to get the civil litigation thrown out at a pre-trial stage.

So far, no journalist from The Sun has been arrested on suspicion of phone hacking.

It is alleged, however, that The Sun illegally breached the privacy of Clegg, actor Jude Law and England football captain Wayne Rooney.

Clegg, a key figure in inspiring London's successful bid for the 2012 Olympics who was also British Chef de Mission at the Salt Lake City 2002 and Beijing 2008 Winter and Summer Games,had been among several public figures that launched legal action against The Sun over allegations of phone hacking in January. 

News Group Newspapers, the owners of The Sun, has settled more than 800 hacking claims against the News of the World so far.

The News of the World was closed down in 2011 following phone hacking allegations.

The 57-year-old Clegg, a former soldier, is among several claimants who want the litigation extended to include The Sun. 

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Simon Clegg played a leading role in London's successful bid for the 2012 Olympics and Paralympics while serving as chief executive of the British Olympic Association ©Getty Images

Lawyers for the claimants argue that because several individuals known to have been involved in hacking also worked for The Sun, it follows that The Sun also used the practice.

The Sun has provided "a large number" of witness statements from reporters to demonstrate cited stories were obtained lawfully.

According to the trade publication Press Gazette, Clegg believes eight articles in The Sun came from "illegal information gathering", according to a judgment from Justice Mann allowing the litigation against The Sun to proceed.

Clegg claimed there was a "significant amount of suspicious activity as regards not only the use of his mobile telephone and missing messages, but also the fact that private information was appearing in the media for which there was no legitimate explanation".

The Sun will now be compelled to hand over internal emails and other data as part of the disclosure process. 

Clegg, who went on to serve as chief executive of Ipswich Town Football Club between 2009 and 2013, served as chief operating officer of the last year's European Games in Baku. 

It was announced in March that he had been appointed as the chief operating officer at Expo 2020 in Dubai.