Settlement with Harry and Lord Watson draws line under legal claims, NGN says
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News Group Newspapers (NGN) has said its settlements with the Duke of Sussex and Lord Tom Watson over unlawful information gathering claims draw a line under the legal action. In a statement issued on Wednesday, the publisher highlighted that it had apologised for a number of matters, but that many allegations remain unproven.
The publisher stated it had long been a matter of record that Harry’s phone was hacked by the News Of The World, and while phone hacking at the newspaper was not due to be a part of the trial, it formed part of the settlement. However, it stressed that there was no voicemail interception at The Sun.
An NGN spokesperson said: “Today, our apology to the Duke of Sussex includes an apology for incidents of unlawful activities carried out by private investigators working for The Sun, not by journalists, during the period 1996-2011. “There are strong controls and processes in place at all our titles today to ensure this cannot happen now. There was no voicemail interception on The Sun.”.
A spokesperson for NGN continued: “Today a full and unequivocal apology is given to the Duke of Sussex for the phone hacking, surveillance and misuse of private information by journalists and private investigators instructed by them at the News of the World.
“Phone hacking at the News Of The World was not due to be a part of this trial but it is a part of this settlement.”. The publisher also stressed that allegations of News International destroying evidence in 2010/11 were “strongly” denied, and would have been challenged at trial.
