By Sheila Mckenzie-
The Duke of Sussex’s damages claim over hacking allegations has been thrown out by a High Court judge, who authorised the Duke Of Sussex to take his case of unlawful information gathering against the publisher of the Sun to trial.
Prince Harry, 38, alleged he was targeted by journalists and private investigators working for News Group Newspapers (NGN), publisher of the Sun and the now defunct News of the World.
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The duke was suing MGN for damages, claiming journalists at its titles – the Daily and Sunday Mirror and Sunday People – were linked to methods including phone hacking, so-called “blagging” or gaining information by deception, and the use of private investigators for unlawful activities.
Harry alleged that 147 stories from 1996 to 2010, published by MGN titles, used information obtained through unlawful means.
The articles cover the duke’s relationship with his family and ex-girlfriend Chelsy Davy, a few injuries and illnesses, his military service and allegations of drug use.
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An estimated 33 articles, dated between 1996 and 2009, were selected for examination during the trial.
At a hearing in April, NGN asked Mr Justice Fancourt to throw out the duke’s case, arguing it was brought too late because he should have known sooner he had a potential claim.
Representatives of the duke of Sussex asked for damages to the tune of over £400,000, but the judge dismissed the claims associated with hacking due to the statute of limitations.
Lawyers acting for Prince Harry argued that he was entitled to just £500 compensation from Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN)
Andrew Green QC Green at the time said: “In this case the Duke of Sussex should be awarded a maximum of £500, given the single invoice naming him concerns inquiries on an isolated occasion, and the small sum on the invoice (£75) suggests inquiries were limited.”
In a ruling on Thursday, the judge concurred with MGN, concluding that Harry could not bring his claim relating to phone hacking, but that his claim over other allegations – including use of private investigators – should go ahead to a trial, due to take place in January next year.
The judge refused to allow the duke to rely on an alleged “secret agreement” between the royal family and senior executives working for media mogul Rupert Murdoch as part of his claim.
A spokesperson for NGN claimed Thursday’s ruling as a “significant victory”.
The judge, in his written ruling, concluded there was “no reasonable prospect” of Harry proving at trial “that he did not know and could not with reasonable diligence have discovered facts that would show that he had a worthwhile claim for voicemail interception in relation to each of the News of the World and the Sun.
“He already knew that in relation to the News of the World, and he could easily have found out by making basic inquiries that he was likely to have a similar claim in relation to articles published by the Sun.”
However, the judge added that there was no evidence currently before him that the duke knew at least six years before the date he issued his claim “that NGN had done anything other than hack his mobile phone, at the News of the World.
“Knowing or being on notice of a worthwhile claim for voicemail interception does not of itself amount to knowledge or notice of a worthwhile claim for other forms of [unlawful information gathering],” the judge added.
He said whether Harry should have known about other forms of unlawful information gathering was “an issue that should be determined only at a trial, with a fuller evidential picture”, the judge said.
Harry’s lawyers previously argued that, while he was aware of unlawful activity in around 2012, he had no reason to think it had taken place at the Sun, and was prevented from bringing a claim because of a “secret agreement” between the royal family and senior NGN executives.
As part of this supposed deal members of the royal family would delay legal proceedings against the newspaper group in return for receiving an apology at a later date. NGN, which denies any unlawful activity took place at the Sun, disputed that such an agreement was in place.
The judge rejected Harry’s attempt to rely on the alleged agreement as part of his claim, ruling: “I am unable to conclude that there is a sufficiently plausible evidential basis for the new case based on the secret agreement to justify the grant of permission to amend at a late stage of the proceedings.”
The judge said the “lack of credibility” included “the improbability of a secret agreement being made” in the terms claimed, the “inconsistency” in the duke’s case, and “the absence of any other witness or documentary evidence to support it”.
A spokesperson for NGN said Thursday’s ruling was “a significant victory” that “dismissed the Duke of Sussex’s phone hacking claims against both the News of the World and the Sun”.
They said the judge had found Harry’s claims “in relation to the alleged ‘secret agreement’ were not plausible or credible. It is quite clear there was never any such agreement and it is only the duke who has ever asserted there was.”
The ruling “substantially reduces the scope of his legal claim. The exact nature and scope of any trial of the remainder will be the subject of further hearings.”
MGN has previously settled a number of claims since the phone-hacking scandal broke in relation to the News of the World, which closed in 2011.
The stage will now be set for a showdown between the duke of sussex and The Sun early next year.
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