Prince Harry set for court showdown with The Sun but judge throws out phone hacking case
27 July 2023, 12:09 | Updated: 27 July 2023, 13:57
Prince Harry has been given legal go-ahead to take The Sun's publisher to court over claims it used illegal methods to gather information on him.
Listen to this article
Loading audio...
Harry's case could go to trial in the High Court next year after a judge ruled that parts of his claim can proceed.
But he cannot bring his claim against News Group Newspapers (NGN), the publisher of The Sun and now-defunct News Of The World, in relation to phone hacking, a High Court judge ruled on Thursday.
It comes after a hearing in April, where NGN asked the judge to throw out the case, arguing it was brought too late because he should have known sooner he had a potential claim.
Mr Justice Fancourt said the rest of Harry's claim, relating to other allegations of unlawful information gathering such as use of private investigators, could be tried.
He refused to allow the duke to amend his case to rely on a "secret agreement" between Buckingham Palace and senior NGN executives.
NGN said the ruling was "a significant victory".
Read more: Harry and Meghan back 'positive masculinity' charity that 'engages men as allies in equality'
Harry had ‘huge amount of paranoia’ after press intrusion, court told
In his written ruling, the judge said: "I am satisfied that there is no reasonable prospect of the duke proving at trial that he did not know and could not with reasonable diligence have discovered facts that would show that he had a worthwhile claim for voicemail interception in relation to each of the News of the World and The Sun."
"He already knew that in relation to the News Of The World, and he could easily have found out by making basic inquiries that he was likely to have a similar claim in relation to articles published by The Sun."
He added that "there is no evidence currently" before him that Harry knew before the date he issued his claim "that NGN had done anything other than hack his mobile phone, at the News Of The World".
Caller supports Prince Harry's criticism of the govt and the press
A spokesperson for NGN said: "The High Court has today, in a significant victory for News Group Newspapers, dismissed The Duke of Sussex's phone hacking claims against both the News Of The World and The Sun.
"As we reach the tail end of litigation, NGN is drawing a line under disputed matters, some of which date back more than 20 years ago.
"In arguing his case, the Duke of Sussex had alleged a 'secret agreement' existed between him/Buckingham Palace and NGN which stopped NGN from asserting that the duke's claim had been brought too late.
"The Judge, Mr Justice Fancourt, found his claims in relation to the alleged 'secret agreement' were not plausible or credible. It is quite clear there was never any such agreement and it is only the Duke who has ever asserted there was.
"Mr Justice Fancourt then dismissed the duke's phone hacking claims against both the News Of The World and The Sun on the grounds that the claim had been brought too late.
"This substantially reduces the scope of his legal claim. The exact nature and scope of any trial of the remainder will be the subject of further hearings."
