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Prince Harry reached a settlement on Wednesday with the publisher of Rupert Murdoch’s tabloid The Sun, ensuring “accountability” for other alleged victims, as the British royal family has previously claimed. It was announced that the long-running legal battle, in which the government had argued that the government should go to trial in order to resolve the issue, has come to an end. Hacking and surveillance by news organizations.
Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex speaks at the New York Times Annual Dealbook Summit at Jazz at … (+)
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important facts
Prince Harry’s lawyer David Sherborne said in a statement to the press that the publisher of The Sun had agreed to pay “substantial damages” for trespassing into Prince Harry’s private life and hacking his mobile phone. said.
According to Reuters, the settlement includes an eight-figure sum that covers most of the legal costs, which is not a huge settlement by US standards, but a “staggering sum” in the UK. ”, NPR media correspondent David Folkenflik points out.
The publisher agreed to give Prince Harry a “full and unequivocal apology” for the “phone hacking, surveillance and misuse of personal information at the direction of journalists and private investigators.”
The publisher also said it apologized to the Duke of Sussex for the “distress it has caused” and the “damage it has caused to relationships, friendships and families.”
The publisher’s apology also cited the impact of “extensive reporting and serious intrusions” on both his personal life and that of his late mother, Princess Diana.
The settlement announcement came a day after Sherborn asked the judge overseeing the case to delay the start of the trial.
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important quotes
Prince Harry’s lawyer told reporters: “Today a lie was exposed. Today a cover-up was exposed. And today we prove that no one is above the law. It’s time to take responsibility.”
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Mr. Sherborn also harshly criticized News Group Newspapers, accusing its executives of deleting “more than 30 million emails,” making “false denials,” and under oath in court and Congressional testimony. He said he obstructed justice by lying. The Crown’s lawyers called on the British Parliament to investigate “not only the now-recognized misconduct, but also the perjury and cover-ups along the way”.
Main background
Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle have recently spoken out against British tabloids’ coverage of their private lives, accusing them of publishing “distorted, false or invasive” stories. The lawsuit against News Group Newsletter is one of several the Duke of Sussex has brought against tabloid newspapers, with mixed results. In 2023, the publisher of the Daily Mirror was ordered by a British court to pay Harry 140,600 pounds ($173,000) in damages for having his phone hacked. The court found that at least 15 articles published by the news organization were based on information obtained through phone hacking or “other illegal intelligence gathering.” Last year, the Mirror Group agreed to pay Mr. Harry an additional 400,000 pounds (about $494,000) to settle other claims against the publisher. As well as Mirror Group and NGN, Mr Harry is also taking legal action against Associated Newspapers, the publisher of the Daily Mail. The Duke of Sussex filed a defamation lawsuit in February 2022 after the Mail published an article alleging he lied about his willingness to pay for police protection for himself and his family while in the UK. , ultimately dropped the case following an unfavorable court ruling last year. and ordered the tabloid to pay 50,000 pounds ($61,700) in legal costs. But Prince Harry is also part of a much larger lawsuit against the Associated Press, along with Elton John and other prominent British celebrities. The lawsuit accuses the Mail publisher of using illegal means to obtain information about celebrities.
amazing facts
William Lewis, a former executive at Mr. Murdoch’s British News Agency and now CEO and publisher of the Washington Post, is not a defendant in the case and denies wrongdoing, but is likely a key figure in the case. It would be. Last July, Prince Harry’s lawyers claimed that Louis “fabricated false security threats” as a way to get scandal-related emails deleted in 2011 as part of a broader cover-up, NPR reported. submitted a statement claiming that
Read more
Prince Harry to win $500,000 in tabloid phone hacking settlement (Forbes)
Prince Harry and Elton John’s lawsuit against Daily Mail goes to trial, court rules (Forbes)
