Duke of Sussex settles High Court claim with The Sun publisher at start of trial
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The Duke of Sussex has settled his legal action against the publisher of The Sun over allegations of unlawful information-gathering shortly before the start of a weeks-long trial. Harry, 40, alleged he was targeted by journalists and private investigators working for News Group Newspapers (NGN), which also published the now-defunct News Of The World.
NGN has denied unlawful activity took place at The Sun. An up to 10-week trial was set to begin at the High Court in London on Tuesday, but three requests for adjournments and a Court of Appeal bid meant that the case remained unopened. On Wednesday morning, Harry’s barrister David Sherborne said that the parties had “reached an agreement” and that NGN had offered an apology to the duke and would pay “substantial damages”.
Lord Tom Watson, former Labour deputy leader, was also taking legal action against the publisher, but also settled his claim. After two earlier requests for adjournments on Tuesday, thought to be related to settlement discussions, Mr Justice Fancourt refused a third request for a delay as both sides had had “ample time to seek to resolve their differences”.
Following a short break, lawyers for both sides asked for the green light to challenge the judge’s decision to not provide a further delay at the Court of Appeal. While Mr Justice Fancourt denied the request, the lawyers could go to the Court of Appeal itself, meaning Tuesday’s hearing was adjourned in any event.
