Prince Harry has reached a legal settlement with News Group Newspapers (NGN), the publisher of The Sun, resolving a long-standing dispute over unlawful information-gathering practices that began in 2005. The settlement marks the conclusion of a five-year legal battle between the Duke of Sussex and NGN.
As part of the agreement, NGN has agreed to pay “substantial damages” and issue a public apology for the invasion of Prince Harry’s privacy. The apology acknowledges the unlawful activities carried out by private investigators on behalf of The Sun, as well as phone hacking, surveillance, and other forms of misuse of private information by journalists and investigators working for The News of the World, another NGN publication.
In a statement following the settlement, David Sherborne, Prince Harry’s lawyer, said, “Today the lies are laid bare. Today the cover-ups are exposed, and today proves that no one stands above the law. The time for accountability has arrived.”
This settlement brings an end to the Duke’s legal efforts to hold NGN accountable for privacy violations that affected him between 1996 and 2011. The outcome highlights the ongoing legal and ethical concerns surrounding privacy breaches by media outlets, governmental organizations and other stakeholders in the information technology sector not only in the UK but globally.
| Picture: Prince Harry and Ms Markel attend ‘Amazing The Space’ event. by the Northern Ireland Office on Wikipedia CC BY 2.0 |
