Prince Harry and several others have brought claims to the High Court in London alleging unlawful information gathering by those working for News Group Newspapers, publishers of The Sun and the defunct News of the World
Prince Harry and several others have won the latest round in a legal battle against unlawful information gathering.
The publisher of The Sun has lost a bid to push back a potential full High Court trial of unlawful information-gathering claims brought by the Duke of Sussex and several others. Harry, 39, alleges he was targeted by journalists and private investigators working for News Group Newspapers (NGN), publishers of The Sun and the defunct News of the World.
He is among several people to bring cases against the publisher, with a full trial of some of the claims, which could include the duke, due to take place in January next year. At a hearing earlier this week, NGN asked a judge to instead hold a narrower-in-scope preliminary trial that month to decide whether the cases against it have been brought too late and outside a legal time limit.
The publisher has previously denied unlawful activity took place at The Sun. In a ruling on Friday, Mr Justice Fancourt dismissed NGN’s request. The judge said there was a “plainly considerable risk” of a preliminary trial “increasing costs overall and delaying” a full trial by up to two years. “That is unsatisfactory,” he said.
At a hearing on Wednesday, lawyers for NGN said the court should first determine whether those bringing cases could have known they had a ‘worthwhile’ claim six years before they issued theirs. A trial on this issue would not have determined the full details of the allegations NGN faces and could have resulted in findings that some claims are ‘time-barred’ and therefore dismissed. NGN’s lawyers argued this approach was the “most efficient” way of dealing with cases and could ‘promote’ settlements, but the legal team for Harry and others said it would be “highly disruptive and prejudicial” and cause “substantial delay”.
Meanwhile, earlier this week, the High Court was told that Harry could be forced to settle his legal claim because of the risk of high legal costs. At a hearing on Wednesday, it was revealed that actor Hugh Grant had settled his case against NGN due to the risk of a £10 million legal bill if his case went to trial. NGN has denied unlawful activity took place at The Sun.
David Sherborne, representing Harry and others, told a judge in London that “the Duke of Sussex is subject to the same issues that Sienna Miller and Hugh Grant have been subject to, which is that the offers are made that make it impossible for them to go ahead”.
The barrister said the duke had previously said “he would continue to bring his claim”, adding that “settlement is forced upon” people bringing claims in the NGN litigation.
A spokesperson for NGN said earlier this week: “In 2011, an unreserved apology was made by NGN to victims of voicemail interception by the News Of The World. Since then, NGN has been paying financial damages to those with proper claims. As we reach the tail end of litigation, NGN is drawing a line under disputed matters, some of which date back more than 20 years ago. In some cases, it has made commercial sense for both parties to come to a settlement agreement before trial to bring a resolution to the matter.
“There are a number of disputed claims still going through the civil courts, some of which seek to involve The Sun. The Sun does not accept liability or make any admissions to the allegations. A judge recently ruled that parts of Mr Grant’s claim were out of time and we have reached an agreement to settle the remainder of the case. This has been done without admission of liability. It is in both parties’ financial interests not to progress to a costly trial.”
