The first day of a damages case against Prince Harry and the owners of The Sun newspaper has been postponed after it emerged that the two sides may enter into settlement negotiations after years of legal battle.
The duke’s lawyers will open an eight-week trial on Tuesday into his claims that reporters at News Group Newspapers used illegal methods to peer into his private life, which executives then covered up. It was planned.
Just before they could begin filing their case, they asked for an adjournment.
But after hours of secret talks, there was no sign of a final agreement that would change the nature of the trial, and the judge asked both sides to begin, with both sides saying they would ask the Court of Appeals to overturn the order. did.
The practical effect of their objection is that the case will be adjourned until at least 10 a.m. Wednesday. This means both sides have more time to negotiate.
It is not clear what was raised in the 11th-hour negotiations.
Prince Harry has repeatedly said he wants a trial to obtain “accountability” for other alleged victims of NGN journalists’ illegal collection of private information.
NGN denies there was any wrongdoing at The Sun or that executives across the group covered up any wrongdoing.
The Rupert Murdoch-owned empire has long admitted that journalists at the News of the World, which was shut down in 2011, used illegal methods, but has always denied it was widespread. Ta.
This morning, lawyers for Prince Harry and another plaintiff, former Labor MP Sir Tom Watson, asked Mr Justice Fancourt to delay the trial twice. That meant court didn’t open until 2 p.m.
Prince Harry’s lawyer David Sherborne said there could be “good prospects” for an agreement to be reached that would save court time.
“We’re very close, but we’re having trouble getting time and direction,” he said.
“That’s not the only factor.”
News Group Newspapers’ Anthony Hudson KC said both parties were caught up in “settlement dynamics”, adding that both parties needed more time due to “time differences”.
Judge Fancourt has repeatedly criticized both sides for long delays and bickering over how to proceed with the case, even if there are still behind-the-scenes discussions that could change the case. It said it should start and refused to give it more time. Nature of the trial.
“If there was a genuine intention to resolve this matter, I am not satisfied that it could not have been resolved by today,” the judge said.
Lawyers for News Group Newspapers then asked to be seated in court privately, without media present, to hear more about what was going on.
The judge refused, saying he would not sit in “secrets”, but Prince Harry’s team and NGN’s lawyers both announced they would ask senior judges to overturn the order for the trial to begin.
