London — Britain's Prince Harry has settled his lawsuit against News Group Newspapers, the British newspaper group owned by media mogul Rupert Murdoch, his lawyer told CBS News on Wednesday.
A 2019 lawsuit filed by Harry along with a former senior UK lawmaker saw them sue the News Group for alleged wrongdoing by both tabloid journalists and private investigators hired by his newspapers The Sun and the non-circulating News of the World. This is one of a the number of lawsuits Harry has filed against newspapers in Britain.
“NGN offers a full and unequivocal apology to the Duke of Sussex for The Sun's serious intrusion into his private life between 1996 and 2011, including instances of illegal activity by private investigators working for The Sun,” it said. media companies. statement read in court on Wednesday. The statement also apologized for the activities of journalists and private investigators working for the News of the World.
“NGN also apologizes to the Duke for the impact on him of extensive coverage and serious intrusions into his private life and that of Diana, Princess of Wales, his late mother, particularly during his younger years. We recognize and apologize for the distress caused to the Duke and the damage to relationships, friendships and family, and have agreed to pay him significant 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 lawsuits involving politicians and celebrities. However, he has always denied that The Sun was involved in any illegal activity or that senior figures knew of anything illegal and tried to cover it up.
Harry previously said he wanted to go to court to get to the truth, rather than get a payout, after other claimants settled out of court.
In court documents released in 2023, – said Prince Harry that his own brother, the heir to the British throne, Prince William, quietly received a “very large sum of money” in 2020 as a result of a phone hacking settlement with Murdoch's British newspaper group.
“After endless resistance, denials and legal battles by News Group Newspapers, including spending more than a billion pounds in payouts and legal costs (as well as paying off those in the know) to keep the full picture out, News UK has finally brought to justice for their illegal actions and flagrant disregard for the law,” said a statement read outside the court on Wednesday on behalf of Prince Harry and the British of the MP who made the suit against him.The truth that has now been exposed is that NGN illegally engaged more than 100 private investigators over a period of at least 16 years.This happened both in The Sun and at the News of the World, with the knowledge of all the editors and managers, going to the very top of the company.”
On Tuesday, Emma Jones, a board member of the human rights group Hacked Off, which worked with Harry on his lawsuit, said the hearing was scheduled to resume this morning, but both sides had asked for more time as settlement talks continue.
Jones said “a huge amount of money will be transferred,” but she said she didn't know the exact amount.
She said Harry also wanted “some kind of recognition … as far as NGN (News Group) is concerned. Some kind of recognition of what happened,” Jones said.
“He doesn't want to just walk away from it with an apology. He wants something tangible that he can say well, you know, 'I at least have that.' I proved myself right,” Jones said as talks continued Tuesday.