Prince Harry's life's work to change UK media may be hindered by costs
Barrister admits Duke of Sussex may have to settle case against Sun publisher or face paying NGN's expensive legal bill.
Changing the UK press has previously been described by Prince Harry as his “life’s work”.
This is about more than just money to him. It’s deeply personal and goes all the way back to what his mother experienced at the hands of the tabloid press.
But the Duke of Sussex now faces a choice about how high a price he is willing to pay to get his day in court with Rupert Murdoch’s News Group Newspaper (NGN), the publisher of The Sun.
His barrister David Sherborne has suggested this week that Harry may be forced to settle his claim before it can get to trial, thanks to the prohibitively high costs he faces.
Harry has not lodged this claim with a view to getting compensation, it’s all about exposing exactly what the tabloids have done in pursuit of stories about him. But even a prince may have a financial red line he cannot cross.
This strategy by NGN is nothing new. Indeed, it settled a phone hacking claim from Harry’s brother, Prince William, in 2020 for a “very large sum of money”.
The actor Hugh Grant revealed this week he had faced that same choice as Harry does now, and when it came down to paying millions to shame the tabloid in a courtroom or walk away, Grant says he had to pick the latter.
Grant claimed he was targeted by journalists and private investigators working for The Sun, including burglaries to order, the breaking and entering of private property in order to obtain private information through bugging, landline tapping and phone hacking.
Writing on X on Wednesday, Grant said he had been forced to settle or potentially pay both his own and NGN’s legal costs, likely to total £10m.
Strict rules about costs in civil litigation mean that if Grant had not settled and had won the case his legal costs could have far outstripped any damages awarded to him.
In civil cases, if the damages awarded to a successful claimant are less than the settlement amount offered by a defendant, the claimant may have to pay the legal costs for all sides. Grant said: “I’m afraid I am shying at that fence.”
Grant said NGN has offered an “enormous sum of money”, “as is common with entirely innocent people”, which will be “repurposed” via groups like the Hacked Off campaign.
Actress Sienna Miller settled her own case against NGN in 2021 for similar reasons.
Crucially, NGN accepts no liability in making the settlement with Grant.
NGN has settled 1,300 phone hacking claims and paid money in 350 other cases through its own compensation scheme over the last 17 years. But while it accepts phone hacking took place at the now-defunct News of the World, it continues to not accept liability for any such activity at The Sun.
The closure of the News of the World along with an apology for hacking of, among others, murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler’s mobile phone, and settlements paid has been NGN’s attempt to move on from the scandal.
It is estimated dealing with the fallout of phone hacking has cost Murdoch’s media empire £1bn.
The strategy has been to settle and avoid trials. Grant and Harry wanted to see the actual evidence of illegal information gathering play out in court, a chance to show the world what had happened.
Grant is part of the final group of 42 outstanding claims. Some of those, including Harry’s case, are due to be heard in a trial in January next year.
Harry, whose memoir Spare was dripping with rage at his treatment at the hands of the tabloid press, will be keen to proceed, fresh from his victory against Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN) last year.
That case exposed more than just unlawful behaviour being “rife” in the newsroom, but also a willingness by senior staff to “turn a blind eye” to illegal conduct, as the judge in that case wrote in his judgement.
As well as offering settlements, NGN’s legal team has also this week tried to argue that the claims against the publisher have been brought too late and outside a legal time limit. A judge will rule on whether a trial should take place to decide that matter on Friday.
NGN said: “In 2011, an unreserved apology was made by NGN to victims of voicemail interception by the News Of The World.
“Since then, NGN has been paying financial damages to those with proper claims.
“As we reach the tail end of litigation, NGN is drawing a line under disputed matters, some of which date back more than 20 years ago. In some cases, it has made commercial sense for both parties to come to a settlement agreement before trial to bring a resolution to the matter.
“There are a number of disputed claims still going through the civil courts, some of which seek to involve The Sun. The Sun does not accept liability or make any admissions to the allegations. Time limitation is now also an issue in a number of the outstanding claims.”
The newspaper industry may argue none of these illegal practices are a part of newsroom activity today, and have not been for some time. However people like Harry and Grant are still determined that those responsible should be held to account.
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