Prince Harry has settled his case against the publisher of The Sun – six years after he launched his lawsuit against the Rupert Murdoch-owned News Group Newspapers (NGN).
The Duke of Sussex and Labour’s former deputy leader Tom Watson were due to take their claims over alleged unlawful gathering to the High Court.
But on what should have been the second day of the trial, last-minute negotiations led to a settlement.
Lawyers for both sides have issued statements – and while they’ve agreed to call off the trial, there are still discrepancies in how each team views the case.
What has NGN said about the News Of The World?
As NGN has pointed out, phone hacking at the News Of The World was not due to be part of the trial – but its statement opens with an “unequivocal apology” to Harry for “phone hacking, surveillance and misuse of private information by journalists and private investigators” working for the Sunday paper.
Phone hacking allegations against the News Of The World were made public in 2006 when its then royal editor, Clive Goodman, and a private investigator were arrested. Both pleaded guilty to phone hacking and were jailed.
Across the following five years, numerous other allegations against the News Of The World came to light and its former editor Andy Coulson was jailed for conspiracy to hack phones in 2014.
The paper was shut down by NGN in 2011, after allegations its staff had hacked the phone of murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler.
As the News Of The World scandal unfolded, numerous public figures claimed they had been targeted by journalists at The Sun using similar, and they said illegal, tactics.
What has NGN said about The Sun?
Its apology for allegations against The Sun is more specific. Crucially, NGN has said sorry for unlawful activities carried out by private investigators working for the paper – but “not by journalists”.
“There was no voicemail interception on The Sun,” it adds.
Addressing the wider media landscape, NGN’s statement claims: “In the 1990s and early 2000s there was widespread use by the broadcast and news media of private investigators.
“In most cases, their use was for public interest journalism and to obtain information necessary for the purposes of journalism.”
The publisher has also given an insight into the argument its lawyers were preparing to put forward in court – directly contradicting one of Harry’s major claims.
It says: “It must also be stressed that allegations that were being made publicly pre-trial (and indeed post-settlement) that News International destroyed evidence in 2010-11 would have been the subject of significant challenge at trial.
“These allegations were and continue to be strongly denied [with] extensive evidence.”
What has Prince Harry said?
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In a statement issued on behalf of Harry and Lord Watson, their barrister David Sherborne hails the settlement as a “monumental victory” as “News UK have admitted that The Sun, the flagship title for Rupert Murdoch’s UK media empire, has indeed engaged in illegal practices”.
He highlights how NGN has spent more than £1bn on settlements relating to accusations against both papers, adding: “News UK is finally held to account for its illegal actions and its blatant disregard for the law.”
“The truth that has now been exposed is that NGN unlawfully engaged more than 100 private investigators over at least 16 years on more than 35,000 occasions,” the statement continues.
While NGN has unequivocally denied destroying evidence relating to investigations, Mr Sherborne’s statement makes it clear Harry is not backing down on this accusation.
It alleges: “Senior executives deliberately obstructed justice by deleting over 30 million emails, destroying back-up tapes, and making false denials – all in the face of an ongoing police investigation.
“They then repeatedly lied under oath to cover their tracks – both in court and at the Leveson public inquiry.”
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Mr Sherborne’s statement also directly contradicts NGN’s claim that “there are strong controls and processes in place at all our titles today to ensure this cannot happen now”.
It says: “Far from being relics of a distant past, many of those behind these unlawful practices remain firmly entrenched in senior positions today, both within News UK and other media outlets across the world, wielding editorial power and perpetuating the toxic culture in which they continue to thrive.”
How does Rebekah Brooks come into it?
Rebekah Brooks was the editor of the News Of The World from 2000 to 2003, before holding the same role at The Sun from 2003 to 2009.
When phone hacking accusations were made public, Ms Brooks herself was thrust into the spotlight. She stood trial alongside fellow ex-News Of The World editor Andy Coulson for conspiracy to hack phones in 2014 – but while Coulson was found guilty, Ms Brooks was cleared.
She returned to News UK in 2015 and has been its chief executive since.
In the statement on behalf of Harry and Lord Watson, Mr Sherborne says: “At her trial, in 2014, Rebekah Brooks said ‘when I was editor of The Sun we ran a clean ship’.
“Now, 10 years later when she is CEO of the company, they now admit, when she was editor of The Sun, they ran a criminal enterprise.”
What happens next?
Both sides have given clear explanations of what they’re hoping for in their respective statements.
Mr Sherborne’s reads: “The rule of law must now run its full course. Prince Harry and Tom Watson join others in calling for the police and parliament to investigate not only the unlawful activity now finally admitted, but the perjury and cover-ups along the way.
“It’s clear now that this has occurred throughout this process, including through sworn evidence in inquiries and court hearings, and in testimony to parliament, until today’s final collapse of NGN’s defence.
“Today the lies are laid bare. Today the cover-ups are exposed. And today proves that no one stands above the law. The time for accountability has arrived.”
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NGN, unsurprisingly, reads the situation differently.
Its statement says: “After more than a decade of litigation, and 14 years since the News Of The World closed down, today’s settlement draws a line under the past and brings an end to this litigation.
“Indeed the judge made it clear in remarks in court at the end of the hearing that these cases are likely to be the last liable to go to trial. Any cases now brought, years after the events, will be liable to be struck out.
“The Sun today can face the future and continue its proud record of award-winning public interest journalism, investigations and campaigning on behalf of its readers.”
A Metropolitan Police spokesperson said: “We are aware of the outcome of the civil proceedings. It remains the case that there are no active police investigations into allegations of phone hacking or related matters.
“We await any correspondence from the parties involved, which we will respond to in due course.”
