The top line
Prince Harry has reached a settlement with the publisher of the Rupert Murdoch-owned tabloid The Sun, his lawyer announced Wednesday, ending a long-running legal battle in which the British royal previously insisted other alleged Trials should be held to ensure “accountability” for victims. Hacking and surveillance by news organizations.
Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, speaks during The New York Times’ annual Deal Book Summit at Jazz. … [+]
Key facts
In a statement to pressHarry’s lawyer, David Sherborne, said the publisher of the Sun had agreed to pay “substantial damages” for unlawfully intruding into his private life and hacking his phone.
The settlement involved an eight-figure sum, mostly including legal fees. Reuters NPR Media Correspondent David Falkenflick reported — and while it’s not a huge settlement by American standards, it’s a “staggering amount” in Britain. Note.
The publisher “A full and unequivocal apologyHarry for the phone hacking, surveillance and misuse of private information he directed by journalists and private investigators.
The publisher said it further apologized to the Duke of Sussex for the “pain” he had caused and for the “damage to relationships, friendships and family”.
The publisher’s apology also mentions the impact of the “extensive coverage and serious intrusion” into both his private life and the private life of his late mother, Princess Diana.
The settlement announcement comes a day after Sherborne asked the judge overseeing the case to delay the start of the trial.
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Important quote
Harry’s lawyer told reporters: “Today the lie is being exposed. Today the cover-up is being exposed. And today it has been proven that no one is above the law. The time for accountability has arrived.”
Tangent
Also Sherborne Criticized harshly Newsgroup Newspapers and said its senior executives obstructed justice by deleting “more than 30 million emails”, making “false denials”, lying under oath in court and during parliamentary testimony. . The royal counsel urged the UK parliament to investigate “not only the illegal activity, which is now finally acknowledged, but also the perjury and cover-up along the way”.
Key background
Harry and his wife Meghan Markle have spoken out against British tabloid press coverage of their private lives in recent years, accusing the newspapers of publishing “distorted, false or offensive” stories. The lawsuit against the newsgroup newspaper is one of several brought by the Duke of Sussex against tabloids, with varying results. In 2023, the publisher of the Daily Mirror was ordered by a UK court to pay Harry £140,600 ($173,000) in damages for hacking his cellphone. The court found that at least 15 articles published by the outlet were based on information obtained through phone hacking or “other illegal information gathering”. Last year, the Mirror Group agreed to pay Harry an additional £400,000 ($494,000) to settle his other claims against the publisher. In addition to the Mirror Group and NGN, Harry has also taken legal action against Associated Newspapers, the publisher of the Daily Mail. In February 2022, she filed a libel suit after the Mail published a story claiming the Duke of Sussex had agreed to pay for police protection for himself and his family. I lied while Harry eventually dropped the case in the UK. Inappropriate court decision Last year, he was ordered to pay £50,000 ($61,700) in legal fees to the tabloid. However, Harry, along with Elton John and other prominent British public figures, is part of a larger lawsuit against Associated Press. The lawsuit accuses the Mail’s publisher of using illegal means to obtain information about celebrities.
Surprising fact
William Lewis – a former executive at Murdoch’s UK news company and now CEO and publisher of the Washington Post – would likely have been a key figure in the case, although he was not a defendant in the case and denied wrongdoing. Last July, Harry’s lawyers submitted a statement arguing that Lewis “created a fake security threat” in 2011 by deleting emails related to the scandal as part of a wider cover-up. As a method, NPR Reported
Further reading
Prince Harry to get $500,000 in tabloid phone hacking settlement (Forbes)
Prince Harry and Elton John to sue Daily Mail, court rules (Forbes)
