Prince Harry received an apology from Rupert Murdoch’s newspapers in a settlement agreement
Prince Harry won a “huge” victory against Rupert Murdoch’s British newspaper group on Wednesday after the publisher settled a lawsuit on Wednesday admitting wrongdoing and paying unspecified damages to the Sun tabloid.
Harry, the 40-year-old’s youngest son, sued The Sun and News of the World at the High Court in London, alleging that News Group Newspapers (NGN) illegally obtained personal information about him since 1996. 2011.
Newsgroup offered a full and unequivocal apology to “the Duke of Sussex for the wiretapping, spying and misuse of private information by journalists and private investigators,” according to a statement read in court by Harry’s lawyer, David Sherborne. .
Sherborne said he had agreed to pay substantial damages to NGN and that NGN had admitted that Harry was the victim of Sun’s illegal activity and had his phone hacked at the hands of News of the World.
Prince Harry’s lawyer, David Sherborne, heard Wednesday after a settlement was reached in long-running privacy claims against Rupert Murdoch’s News Group newspapers.
Sherborne said that “the time for accountability has arrived” and called for the British police and the UK government to open investigations, NGN executives have cleared 30 million emails over the years and obstructed the civil case.
The claimants also intend to hand over to the police the lawyer, including Rebecca Brooks, who was his editor between 2003 and 2009.
Brooks resigned from the parent company, now News Corp UK, shortly before her arrest in July 2011 on suspicion of conspiracy to hack communications and other charges. In the year She was acquitted at trial in 2014 and joined News Corp UK the following year.
“We ran a clean ship when I was editor of The Sun,” Sherburne told Rebecca Brooks at her trial in 2014. “Now 10 years later, when she was chief executive of the company, they admit that they ran a criminal enterprise when she was editor of The Sun.”
Full apologies to Harry
“NGN has issued a full and unequivocal apology to The Duke of Sussex for the serious intrusions into his private life by The Sun between 1996 and 2011, including illegal activities by private investigators working for The Sun,” the newsgroup’s apology read.
“NGN has issued a full and unequivocal apology to the Duke of Sussex for the hacking, surveillance and misuse of private information by journalists and private investigators at News of the World.
“The NGN has also apologized for the extensive coverage and serious intrusion into the Duke’s personal life and the impact of his late mother, Diana, Princess of Wales, particularly on his young age.
“We acknowledge and apologize for the inconvenience caused to Duke and the damage to relationships, friendships and family, and agree to pay substantial damages.”
The newsgroup says that harmful practices have happened before
Harry has long lashed out at several British tabloid press outlets over their reports and paparazzi.
He first filed the lawsuit against NGN in 2011.
In the year Harry – the first royal to appear as a witness in court in 130 years – is scheduled to give evidence next month in a separate trial in 2023.
Harry is currently believed to be in California, where he currently resides.
Harry admitted in a British documentary that the crusade was “part of the argument” with members of the royal family.
King Charles opposed the dispute, Harry said in legal documents.
The NGN has paid out hundreds of millions of pounds for wiretapping and other illegal information gathered by world news and brought charges against more than 1,300 celebrities, politicians, sports figures and ordinary people. them or major events.
But there is a mistake in the Sun newspaper or any senior officials who knew about it or tried to cover it up always denied Harry’s allegations.
In a statement, an NGN spokesperson said the apology was for the illegal actions of the private investigators working for The Sun, not the journalists.
“There are strong controls and processes in place across all of our topics today to make sure this can’t happen now. There was no voicemail interference on Sun,” the spokesperson said, adding that the termination could be the end of any lawsuits and should be thrown out in future cases.
Sean Harrison, London-based author and media law specialistHe told CBC News that Harry won a “huge” settlement from the Sun, but the tabloid and its corporate executives are happy to avoid airing damaging allegations in court.
While the prince vowed to pursue the case in court, Harrison said it was because, in her opinion, British civil law prohibits legal fees for those who lose a case.
Harrison added that, despite Sherborne’s out-of-court comments, it was “probably highly unlikely” that any further criminal charges would come after all these years.
The British legislator also apologized
Labour’s Tom Watson, who serves in the House of Lords, was due to be part of the trial over similar claims as the Duke of Sussex. Watson apologized to Murdoch’s company on Wednesday.
“The News of the World has issued a full and unequivocal apology to Lord Watson for the unauthorized intrusion into his private life during his time in government in 2009-2011,” NGN said.
Tom Watson, the former deputy leader of the Labor Party, who won a landslide victory on Wednesday, praised the British prince’s courage and determination in fighting tabloids owned by media baron Rupert Murdoch and others.
Harry and Watson said in a joint statement that NGN has now paid more than £1 billion (1.77 billion CDN) over the years.
In comments outside court, Watson praised Harry’s “bravery and incredible courage” in his prosecution of the case.
The lawmaker has called on Rupert Murdoch to issue a personal apology to Harry and others who have breached the privacy of companies in his media empire.
Hugh Grant agreed last year with NGN that journalists used private investigators to tap his phone and ransack his home. The actor declined to do so, but the legal costs were prohibitive, and he said he would donate the proceeds of the settlement he won to press advocacy groups.
News of the World folds after 168 years in business following phone hacking scandal.
In the English Parliament hearing in 2010 In 2011, Murdoch expressed regret for what happened in his UK paper, but insisted he had no personal responsibility.
Prince Harry is declaring victory after a London judge ruled he was the victim of phone hacking by British newspaper publisher Mirror Group.
They did, “Let people I trust run it and then maybe people they trust.”
Murdoch’s companies own a number of news organizations around the world, including Fox News, the Wall Street Journal and the New York Post in the US, the Times of London in the UK and several companies in his native Australia.
Harry was previously awarded £140,600 (about $240,430) by Britain’s Mirror Group newspapers (MGN) after the High Court in London said he was the victim of “modest” phone hacking and other illegal data collection by journalists.
Harry sued MGN, publisher of the Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror and Sunday People.
But the Duke of Sussex was ordered to pay the Daily Mail’s legal costs in another fraught legal bid and subsequently dropped the case.
