ManşetWorld

Prince Harry’s lawsuit against Murdoch’s UK group moves towards trial

Prince Harry will pursue his lawsuit against Rupert Murdoch’s News Group Newspapers (NGN) over alleged unlawful activities by journalists and private investigators despite dozens of others settling their cases, his lawyer said on Friday.

Harry, 40, the younger son of King Charles, is suing the publisher of the Sun and the now-defunct News of the World at the High Court in London, alleging NGN unlawfully obtained private information about him from 1996 until 2011.

His case was one of about 40 lawsuits against NGN, but all but one other litigant – former Labour Party deputy leader Tom Watson – have now settled, Harry’s lawyer David Sherborne told the court.

Those who have agreed to settle include Spice Girl Melanie Brown, former BBC executive Alan Yentob, “Game of Thrones” actor Alfie Allen, Ted Beckham, the father of former England soccer captain David Beckham, and Queen Camilla’s nephew, Ben Elliot.

An NGN spokesperson said: “In some disputed cases, it has made commercial sense to come to a settlement agreement before trial to bring a resolution to the matter.

“As we reach the tail end of the litigation, NGN is drawing a line under the disputed matters.”

Harry’s lawyers applied on Friday for NGN to search for emails between senior executives at News Corp NWSA.O – including chief executive Robert Thomson – and royal staff.

At a hearing last year, Harry’s lawyers said the late Queen Elizabeth knew NGN had been spying on her family and their friends and authorised her staff to seek a resolution.

The prince’s legal team also said his brother Prince William, the heir to the throne, settled a case against NGN, the British newspaper arm of News Corp, in 2020.

Related Articles

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Back to top button