News Group Newspapers agreed to pay substantial damages and apologised to Prince Harry, closing a long-standing legal battle with the Duke of Sussex.
The publisher of The Sun newspaper has agreed to pay substantial damages and issued an apology to Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, settling a protracted legal dispute over allegations of unlawful intrusion into his private life. The settlement, reported by the BBC, brings an end to a case that exposed extensive misconduct by News Group Newspapers (NGN).
Prince Harry had accused journalists and private investigators working for NGN of using illegal techniques to gather personal information between 1996 and 2011. In a statement read in court, NGN admitted to “serious intrusion” and acknowledged incidents of unlawful activity conducted by private investigators employed by The Sun.
The apology extended to the distress caused by NGN’s “extensive coverage” of Prince Harry’s life and its “serious intrusion” into the privacy of his late mother, Princess Diana. BBC sources indicate that the settlement, including damages and legal fees, has cost NGN more than £10 million.
When launching his claim, Prince Harry highlighted over 200 articles published by NGN between 1996 and 2011, alleging they were based on information obtained through illegal means. He had sought a trial to achieve accountability for other alleged victims of unlawful newsgathering. However, NGN’s recent settlement proposal, described as a “serious approach” by the publisher, led to a resolution.
David Sherborne, Prince Harry’s barrister, called the settlement a “monumental victory” and emphasised that NGN had been “finally held to account for its illegal actions and blatant disregard for the law.”
The legal battle also included Lord Tom Watson, former Labour deputy leader, who alleged that his phone was targeted by NGN during his investigations into Rupert Murdoch’s newspapers. NGN apologised to Lord Watson for surveillance and intrusion by journalists and private investigators but denied hacking his phone. Watson described the practices as “industrial in scale” and called for Rupert Murdoch to issue a personal apology to all affected.
NGN’s statement claimed the settlement “draws a line under the past” while maintaining that security upgrades after 2007 made phone hacking “nigh on impossible.” The company acknowledged that its response to earlier allegations and subsequent actions were “regrettable.”
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