The British publisher of the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday tabloids said on Thursday it had filed a defence against Prince Harry’s allegations of unlawful information gathering.
Associated Newspapers called the case brought to the High Court in London by the Duke of Sussex, as Harry is also known, and six other public figures including Elton John, “preposterous”.
Privacy breaches
In one of a slew of claims the prince has brought against UK media, Harry, 39, alleges he was a victim of privacy breaches through phone-hacking and private investigators used by the publisher’s journalists.
Court papers setting out Harry’s claims were also made public on Wednesday, revealing dozens of journalists and some newspaper editors named in the lawsuit, which was filed in October 2022 and remains in its early stages.
The current editor-in-chief of The Sun Victoria Newton, editor of The Times Tony Gallagher and editor of the Mail on Sunday David Dillon are named in relation to their time at Associated titles.
Denying phone hacking and bugging, the publisher’s defence also contested having hired two private investigators.
Associated Newspapers had previously failed to halt the case by arguing that it was out of time.
In December, the High Court ruled that Harry was a victim of phone hacking by journalists at Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN).
In the now-settled MGN case, Harry, King Charles III’s younger son, became the first British royal in over a century to take to the witness stand when he gave evidence in the trial.
Prince Harry alleges he was repeatedly targeted by journalists
Harry’s lawsuit against Rupert Murdoch’s News Group Newspapers (NGN), which publishes The Sun tabloid, is progressing towards a potential trial next year.
Joined by dozens of other claimants, Harry alleges he was repeatedly targeted by journalists and private investigators at The Sun.
He stood down from royal duties in early 2020 for a life in California with his American wife Meghan, in part for privacy reasons.
By Garrin Lambley © Agence France-Presse