London – Britain’s Prince Harry has settled his lawsuit against the British media group owned by media mogul Rupert Murdoch, News Group Newspapers, his lawyer told CBS News on Wednesday.
The 2019 lawsuit filed by Harry and a former high-ranking British lawmaker saw them sue News Group over alleged illegal activities carried out by both tabloid journalists and private investigators employed by its newspapers, The Sun, and by the newspaper which is no longer in circulation. World News. It is one of number of lawsuits filed by Harry against newspapers in Britain.
“NGN offers a full and unequivocal apology to the Duke of Sussex for the Sun’s serious intrusion between 1996 and 2011 into his private life, including incidents of illegal activity carried out by private investigators working for The Sun,” the statement said. media company in a statement. a statement read in court Wednesday. The statement also included an apology for the activities of journalists and private investigators working for the News of the World.
“NGN further apologizes to the Duke for the impact on him of the extensive media coverage and the serious intrusion into his private life as well as the private life of Diana, Princess of Wales, his late mother, particularly during “We acknowledge and apologize for the distress caused to the Duke and the damage inflicted on relationships, friendships and family, and have agreed to pay him substantial damages,” the statement said.
Rebecca Blackwell/AP
News Group has faced numerous lawsuits over allegations of phone hacking and illegal information gathering, and has settled more than 1,300 cases involving politicians and celebrities. However, he has always denied that The Sun newspaper was involved in illegal activities or that senior officials knew of anything illegal and tried to cover it up.
Harry previously said he wanted to go to court to find out the truth, rather than for compensation, after other claimants settled out of court.
In court documents released in 2023, Prince Harry said that his own brother, heir to the British throne, Prince William, quietly received “a very large sum of money” as part of a 2020 phone hacking deal with Murdoch’s British media group.
“After endless resistance, denials and legal battles from News Group newspapers, including spending more than £1 billion on compensation and legal costs (as well as reimbursing those who are aware) to prevent the publication of the full picture, News UK is ultimately being held accountable for its illegal actions and blatant disregard for the law,” a statement read in court on behalf of Prince Harry and the lawmaker on Wednesday said British who filed a complaint with “The truth that has now been revealed is that NGN illegally hired more than 100 private investigators for at least 16 years and on more than 35,000 occasions. This happened at both the Sun and the News of the World. with the knowledge of all the editors and executives, going all the way back to the top of the company.
On Tuesday, Emma Jones, a board member of the advocacy group Hacked Off, which worked with Harry on his trial, said proceedings were scheduled to resume that morning, but both sides had requested additional time so that settlement talks were underway. .
Jones said “a huge amount of money was going to pass hands,” but she said she didn’t know the exact amount.
She said Harry also wanted “some sort of confession… that involves NGN (News Group). An admission, of sorts, of what happened,” Jones said.
“He doesn’t want to get away with excuses. He wants something tangible that he can say, you know, ‘I at least have this.’ I proved my point,’” Jones said as negotiations continued Tuesday.