In a recent development, Prince Harry has been accused by a legal representative of News Group Newspapers (NGN), the publisher of Rupert Murdoch's British tabloid The Sun, of intentionally erasing evidence pertinent to his lawsuit against the media conglomerate.
The prince, along with several other plaintiffs including actor Hugh Grant, has initiated legal action against NGN, alleging that reporters and private investigators employed illicit methods to gather information.
As reported by The Daily Beast, Anthony Hudson, the attorney representing NGN, informed London's High Court that Prince Harry had deliberately deleted text messages exchanged with J.R. Moehringer, the journalist who ghostwrote Harry's memoir, Spare. A trial addressing some of the allegations against NGN is scheduled to commence in January 2025. In anticipation of the trial, NGN's legal team has requested an order compelling Harry to disclose all information in his possessionor potentially held by the royal household or his previous lawyersrelated to his knowledge of the alleged illegal practices prior to the end of 2013.
The timing of Harry's awareness of a potential claim is crucial, as the case could be dismissed for being initiated too late if he was cognizant of a possible claim before the specified date, according to Reuters. Hudson expressed his concerns to the court, stating that they were compelled to request the order due to Harry's "obfuscation." He accused the prince of creating an "obstacle course" to access the documents and expressed alarm over a statement from Harry's team indicating that all messages between Harry and his ghostwriter, sent via the Signal messaging app, had been erased.
"We say it's shocking and extraordinary that the claimant has deliberately destroyed" Hudson began, as quoted by The Telegraph, before being interrupted by the judge, Timothy Fancourt, who interjected, "Well we don't know what has happened. It's not at all clear."
Hudson reportedly added, "It is of great concern. It needs to be clarified in very short order." He also alleged difficulties in obtaining other potentially relevant emails, stating, "We have had to drag those out of the claimant kicking and screaming," as reported by Reuters.
In response, David Sherborne, Harry's lawyer, accused Hudson of using inflammatory language to "get a headline," according to the news agency. Sherborne further alleged that NGN's team was embarking on a "fishing expedition." He dismissed any insinuation of Harry destroying or withholding potentially relevant material as the "height of hypocrisy," asserting that NGN had deleted millions of emails in an attempt to conceal incriminating evidence.
The plaintiffs in the case argue that journalists violated their privacy rights by employing unlawful methods to acquire confidential information. The case originates from a phone hacking scandal at NGN's News of the World tabloid, which ceased operations in 2011. The media group has apologized to the victims of voicemail interception by the now-defunct tabloid and claims to have settled 1,300 claims for its newspapers, although The Sun has not accepted liability.
In a recent ruling, Fancourt decided that Harry could not expand his lawsuit to include allegations that Murdoch was aware of unlawful activity at his London tabloids but chose to ignore the claims, as reported by the BBC.
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