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LONDON (Reuters) – Prince Harry on Wednesday battled a phone hacking suit against the trial arm of Britain’s Rupert Murdoch newspaper, asking the High Court in London to allow him to rely on an alleged “confidential agreement” between Britain’s royal family and the publisher.
Harry, the youngest son of King Charles, is suing Murdoch Newspapers Group (NGN) for multiple illegal acts allegedly committed on behalf of its now-defunct tabloids, The Sun and News of the World, from the mid-1990s until 2016.
NGN, which has settled more than a thousand phone hack cases over the past decade, filed a motion in April to have Harry’s claim expunged, arguing he should have taken urgent action.
Harry says he didn’t file a lawsuit until 2019 because of an agreement between them Buckingham Palace and prominent NGN figures to defer any lawsuits by the royal family until the end of all other phone hacking lawsuits against NGN. NGN denies the existence of any such agreement.
On Wednesday, Harry’s lawyers sought to build on the alleged agreement to defeat NGN’s attempt to get rid of his case and allow it to be heard at the trial in January, which will feature a similar claim by British actor Hugh Grant.
Harry alleges that NGN journalists or private investigators acting on their behalf illegally intercepted his voicemail messages, known as phone hacking, and obtained private information such as phone bills and medical records by deception, which NGN denies.
David Sherborne, who is representing Harry, has argued that there is clear evidence of an agreement between the NGN and the royal family, meaning Harry was unable to bring the lawsuit earlier.
The fifth-in-line to the throne, in a deposition in April, said NGN had paid off his brother Prince William’s claim for “a huge amount of money in 2020… without telling any of the public”.
Buckingham Palace did not comment and William’s office said earlier it could not comment on ongoing legal proceedings. NGN declined to comment in April on whether it had reached a settlement with William.
Harry also said his attempts to move forward with his case against NGN, backed by the late Queen Elizabeth, had been hampered by NGN and royal aides.
Royal staff were in contact with Rebecca Brooks — the current chief executive of Murdoch’s News UK — and News Corp chief executive Robert Thompson about Harry’s lawsuit in 2017 and 2018, according to emails released in April.
Sherborne argued in court filings on Wednesday that NGN had not produced any evidence from Brooks and Thompson “despite their evidence being determined to be conclusive.”
NGN’s attorneys said they did not provide evidence from Brooks and Thomson because they were not working for NGN in 2012 when the agreement was made.
The publisher also argues that even if there was a confidentiality agreement between Buckingham Palace and the publisher, it would not be enforced until the end of other phone hack claims.
Harry’s lawsuit against NGN is one of four cases he has filed against British newspaper publishers, including a similar suit against Mirror Newspapers Group (MGN) in which he seeks damages of around £440,000 ($560,000).
He became the first high-profile British monarch to appear in the witness box for more than 130 years when he testified in MGN’s lawsuit last month.
Harry, the youngest son of King Charles, is suing Murdoch Newspapers Group (NGN) for multiple illegal acts allegedly committed on behalf of its now-defunct tabloids, The Sun and News of the World, from the mid-1990s until 2016.
NGN, which has settled more than a thousand phone hack cases over the past decade, filed a motion in April to have Harry’s claim expunged, arguing he should have taken urgent action.
Harry says he didn’t file a lawsuit until 2019 because of an agreement between them Buckingham Palace and prominent NGN figures to defer any lawsuits by the royal family until the end of all other phone hacking lawsuits against NGN. NGN denies the existence of any such agreement.
On Wednesday, Harry’s lawyers sought to build on the alleged agreement to defeat NGN’s attempt to get rid of his case and allow it to be heard at the trial in January, which will feature a similar claim by British actor Hugh Grant.
Harry alleges that NGN journalists or private investigators acting on their behalf illegally intercepted his voicemail messages, known as phone hacking, and obtained private information such as phone bills and medical records by deception, which NGN denies.
David Sherborne, who is representing Harry, has argued that there is clear evidence of an agreement between the NGN and the royal family, meaning Harry was unable to bring the lawsuit earlier.
The fifth-in-line to the throne, in a deposition in April, said NGN had paid off his brother Prince William’s claim for “a huge amount of money in 2020… without telling any of the public”.
Buckingham Palace did not comment and William’s office said earlier it could not comment on ongoing legal proceedings. NGN declined to comment in April on whether it had reached a settlement with William.
Harry also said his attempts to move forward with his case against NGN, backed by the late Queen Elizabeth, had been hampered by NGN and royal aides.
Royal staff were in contact with Rebecca Brooks — the current chief executive of Murdoch’s News UK — and News Corp chief executive Robert Thompson about Harry’s lawsuit in 2017 and 2018, according to emails released in April.
Sherborne argued in court filings on Wednesday that NGN had not produced any evidence from Brooks and Thompson “despite their evidence being determined to be conclusive.”
NGN’s attorneys said they did not provide evidence from Brooks and Thomson because they were not working for NGN in 2012 when the agreement was made.
The publisher also argues that even if there was a confidentiality agreement between Buckingham Palace and the publisher, it would not be enforced until the end of other phone hack claims.
Harry’s lawsuit against NGN is one of four cases he has filed against British newspaper publishers, including a similar suit against Mirror Newspapers Group (MGN) in which he seeks damages of around £440,000 ($560,000).
He became the first high-profile British monarch to appear in the witness box for more than 130 years when he testified in MGN’s lawsuit last month.
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