Prince Harry in talks with Sun publisher over possible settlement, high court told
Share:
Trial delayed as NGN lawyers say ‘very intense negotiations’ under way with royal and Labour peer Tom Watson. The Duke of Sussex and the former deputy Labour leader Tom Watson are in intense negotiations over a potential settlement with the publisher of the Sun, the high court has heard, as the start of their high-profile trial in London was pushed back.
Prince Harry and Lord Watson are suing News Group Newspapers (NGN) over allegations of unlawful information gathering. NGN, which also published the now defunct News of the World, denies any unlawful activity took place at the Sun. At the 11th hour, with the trial having been due to open at 10.30am on Tuesday, counsel for both sides asked for two adjournments delaying the start until the afternoon. At 2pm, the trial judge, Mr Justice Fancourt, refused a third joint request from legal counsel to adjourn until Wednesday, saying the two sides had had “ample time” to come to terms, and he was not persuaded there was “a real will” to settle the case.
Both parties said they would seek to appeal against the judge’s decision before the trial opened, which means the case is now scheduled to resume at 10am on Wednesday. Anthony Hudson KC, for NGN, said the parties “have been involved in very intense negotiations over the last few days and the reality is we are very close”, adding that there were “time difference difficulties”.
“Very unusually, both parties are in complete agreement that this is a very important step. Both parties feel they have no choice but to persist in this,” he added. “We do believe in the long run that this will give significant benefit to the court. For the sake of two hours, we are very concerned that if we don’t have these two hours, something that is capable of being achieved may not be achieved.