- Title: Prince Harry takes on Murdoch's UK group in latest court action against papers
- Date: 25th April 2023
- Summary: NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (FILE - DECEMBER 6, 2022) (REUTERS) ***WARNING: CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** PRINCE HARRY AND MEGHAN WELCOMED BY PRESIDENT OF ROBERT F. KENNEDY HUMAN RIGHTS, KERRY KENNEDY, ON THE RED CARPET AT RIPPLE OF HOPE GALA IN NEW YORK NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (FILE - NOVEMBER 10, 2021) (REUTERS) PRINCE HARRY AND MEGHAN ARRIVING ON THE RED
- Embargoed: 9th May 2023 09:17
- Keywords: Murdoch News Group Newspapers (NGN) Prince Harry court royals
- Location: WINDSOR AND LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM /NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES / CANNES, FRANCE
- City: WINDSOR AND LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM /NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES / CANNES, FRANCE
- Country: UK
- Topics: Arts/Culture/Entertainment,Europe,Royals
- Reuters ID: LVA003758325042023RP1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Lawyers for Prince Harry will be back in a London court on Tuesday in his latest foray against Britain's tabloid press, this time taking on Rupert Murdoch's News Group Newspapers (NGN) over allegations of phone-hacking.
Harry, the younger son of King Charles, started action against NGN, publisher of the Sun tabloid and now defunct News of the World, in September 2019, not long before he and his wife Meghan stepped down from royal duties and moved to California.
During three-days of preliminary hearings this week, NGN, which has paid out millions of pounds to settle hundreds of phone-hacking cases, is seeking to strike out claims by the prince and British actor Hugh Grant against the Sun, arguing they should have taken action sooner.
The case is one of four Harry is pursuing at the High Court in London against British newspapers that he accuses of using illegal means to invade his or his wife's privacy, or simply lying about them.
His claim against NGN could prove particularly sensitive for Australian-born media mogul Murdoch's British newspaper group. In 2012, it issued an unreserved apology for widespread hacking carried out by journalists at the News of the World which Murdoch shut down amid a backlash.
But it has always rejected any unlawful activity at the Sun which was previously edited by Rebekah Brooks, now chief executive of Murdoch's British arm News UK. She has always denied knowledge of phone-hacking and was found not guilty in 2014 of involvement following a criminal trial.
Last week, Murdoch's Fox Corp. settled a U.S. defamation lawsuit for $787.5 million, but reports suggest that figure is dwarfed by the British phone-hacking scandal.
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