It may have been a “settlement” but Prince Harry’s angry words following his deal with Rupert Murdoch’s News Group Newspapers (NGN) today showed quite how many scores he had to settle. Outside London’s High Court, the lawyer David Sherborne read a statement on behalf of the Duke of Sussex and the other remaining complainant in the case, Labour’s former deputy leader Tom Watson. They spoke of a “monumental victory”.
In many ways it was – for the first time, said the prince, there had been an admission of illegal practices by private investigators who had been employed by the Murdochs’ flagship newspaper brand, the Sun. And there was also an apology for intrusion into the life of Prince Harry and his mother, Princess Diana. But there were points NGN will take as victories too. There was no admission of illegal activity by Sun journalists. And while accepting its response to the arrest of journalists in 2006 was “regrettable” there was no admission by NGN of illegality.
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