Prince Harry’s prolonged legal battle against Rupert Murdoch’s British newspaper group took an unexpected turn on Wednesday when the Duke of Sussex settled his case over allegations of unlawful information gathering just before the trial was set to begin.
The 40-year-old duke had sued News Group Newspapers (NGN)—publisher of The Sun and the now-defunct News of the World—alleging that journalists and private investigators employed by the outlets had targeted him and his family from 1996 to 2011.
David Sherborne, Harry’s barrister, told London’s High Court that NGN “offers a full and unequivocal apology to the Duke of Sussex for the serious intrusion by The Sun between 1996 and 2011 into his private life, including incidents of unlawful activities carried out by private investigators working for The Sun.”
Sherborne, reading a full statement on behalf of the defendant, said NGN also apologized to the Duke of Sussex for the phone hacking, surveillance, and misuse of private information conducted by journalists and private investigators working for News of the World.
“NGN further apologizes to the duke for the impact on him of the extensive coverage and serious intrusion into his private life as well as the private life of Diana, Princess of Wales, his late mother, particularly during his younger years,” Sherborne stated.
The publisher also acknowledged the distress caused to Harry and the damage inflicted on his relationships, friendships, and family. NGN agreed to pay the duke substantial damages, while noting “without any admission of illegality” that its response to the 2006 arrests and subsequent actions were regrettable.
Former Labour Party deputy leader Tom Watson, a co-claimant in the case, also settled. Watson alleged that the tabloids engaged in unlawful information gathering and phone hacking between 2009 and 2011, coinciding with his investigations into the Murdoch newspapers during a high-profile phone hacking scandal.
That scandal led to the 2011 closure of News of the World and a public apology from Murdoch for phone hacking.
Sherborne added that NGN apologized to Watson for the “unwarranted intrusion into his private life during his time in government by News of the World between 2009 and 2011.”
The trial had been set to begin on Tuesday but faced repeated delays following requests from lawyers on both sides.
This is a breaking news story and will be updated.
The United States and Iran have traded fresh strikes, with the U.S. hitting military sites and Iran launching missiles and drones at bases and ship...
A London court has handed down lengthy sentences to activists from campaign group Palestine Action, who raided an Israeli-owned arms company in the U...
Sierra Leone’s First Lady, Fatima Jabbe-Bio, has lost her London social housing flat after a UK council seized it. ...
SpaceX made a historic entrance into the Nasdaq on Friday, surging over 20% in its first day of trading and lifting its valuation to more than $2 tril...
Iran said no final decision has been made on a proposed agreement with Washington, despite suggestions from U.S. President Donald Trump that a deal co...
A charity co-founded by Prince Harry in honour of his late mother, Princess Diana, is suing him for libel at the High Court in London, according to a court record published on Friday (10 April).
Britain’s King Charles III marks his 77th birthday. Unlike his predecessors, King Charles treats his actual birthday, on 14 November, as his main moment of reflection. This year, King Charles visited Wales—a decision that coincides with the overall spirit of his first three years on the throne.
Britain's Prince Harry visited Ukraine on Friday, arriving in Kyiv with a team from his Invictus Games Foundation to detail his charity's plans to help rehabilitate wounded soldiers, the Guardian newspaper reported.
Prince Harry had tea with King Charles at Buckingham Palace on Wednesday at their first meeting in 20 months, in what may prove a first step toward ending a much-publicised rift between father and son.
Mexico and South Africa meet in Thursday’s World Cup opener in Mexico City, with both teams approaching the match from very different positions but facing their own pressures.
SpaceX has made history with the largest initial public offering ever in the United States, pricing its shares at $135 each and achieving a market valuation of $1.77 trillion.
SpaceX made a historic entrance into the Nasdaq on Friday, surging over 20% in its first day of trading and lifting its valuation to more than $2 trillion. Investors flocked to the world’s largest IPO, betting on Elon Musk’s sprawling empire spanning rockets, AI and beyond.
While France hosts next week’s Group of Seven summit, businesses in neighbouring Switzerland have already begun taking precautions, with many shops in Geneva boarded up ahead of a large anti-G7 demonstration expected on Sunday.
Formula 1 driver Pierre Gasly’s Monaco Grand Prix podium has been reinstated after Alpine successfully challenged his post-race penalties through a Right of Review request with the FIA.
A London court has handed down lengthy sentences to activists from campaign group Palestine Action, who raided an Israeli-owned arms company in the UK.
Sierra Leone’s First Lady, Fatima Jabbe-Bio, has lost her London social housing flat after a UK council seized it.
SpaceX made a historic entrance into the Nasdaq on Friday, surging over 20% in its first day of trading and lifting its valuation to more than $2 trillion. Investors flocked to the world’s largest IPO, betting on Elon Musk’s sprawling empire spanning rockets, AI and beyond.
Ukraine will increase military wages and expand recruitment of foreign volunteers, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced on Friday, as the armed forces face a critical personnel shortage after more than four years of war with Russia.
Poland will receive a new $4 billion loan from the United States through the Foreign Military Financing (FMF) programme, strengthening defence ties between the two NATO allies as Warsaw continues a major military modernisation drive.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment