Prince Harry returned Thursday to the High Court in London, where his lawyer was fighting off an attempt by a newspaper publisher to drop a lawsuit brought once morest him and other prominent figures accusing journalists of many illegal acts.
Case details
- Prince Harry, singer Elton John and five other prominent personalities are suing the Associated News Papers.
- They said they had been “victims of phone hacks and other serious breaches of privacy by journalists from the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers, or private investigators working for them”..
- The company, in turn, seeks to drop the lawsuit before it turns into a trial, arguing that the allegations, some of which took place 30 years ago, fall outside the time limit for legal procedures, which is 6 years.
Why this timing?
As to why they had not sued before, David Sherborne, a lawyer for Prince Harry and the other plaintiffs, told the court on the fourth and final day of preliminary hearings:
- “They were misled, following flat denials from the company’s top executives during a public investigation in 2011.”.
- This categorical denial has been believed by a number of individuals who have filed lawsuits.
- “It was what was discovered recently that turned their suspicions into reasons to take action“.
Harry’s statements in court
- Prince Harry and others detail in court filings a series of illegal acts by Daily Mail journalists or 19 private investigators working for them between 1993 and 2011 and therefollowing.
- Among those acts, wiretapping their phones and homes to obtain medical records, by fraud, according to Archyde.com.
- Prince Harry took part in court hearings over 3 days this week.
The Associated News Papers have always denied involvement in such illegal practices.