Prince Harry is pushing “Alice in Wonderland stuff” by claiming the royal family struck a secret deal with one of Rupert Murdoch’s media companies over phone hacking, according to the newspaper group.
Harry is attempting to take the publisher of the Sun to trial, alleging journalists working for the tabloid hacked his voicemails and illegally targeted him using private investigators over several decades. Murdoch’s company is trying to block the case on technical grounds, arguing that Harry waited too long to file his legal paperwork.
According to Harry, the royal family privately agreed not to sue the Sun and the News of the World over phone hacking. In return, royal family members would receive apologies and payouts at a later date as a reward for staying out of court.
Murdoch’s lawyers said Harry’s case was “fundamentally flawed” and claims of a secret deal belonged in a Lewis Carroll book.
David Sherborne, Harry’s barrister, told the high court the prince’s case was delayed by the existence of this secret deal, which was known by senior figures such as Rebekah Brooks. She was the editor of the Sun for part of the period during which Harry alleges phone hacking took place and is now the chief executive of Murdoch’s British media business.
Sherborne asked why Brooks and her fellow Murdoch executive, Robert Thomson, would not come to court and officially deny the existence of such a deal. “The only explanation for them not having provided evidence is it’s entirely tactical,” he said.
The barrister alleged that Prince William, the heir to the throne, was aware of the agreement when he agreed to take a “very large sum of money” from Murdoch’s company in 2020 over his own phone-hacking claim. He told the court that this payout was further evidence of the existence of a deal that also affected Prince Harry. “His brother’s role is very important. He took exactly the same stance,” Sherborne said.
The court had previously heard that Queen Elizabeth knew of the deal when Harry unsuccessfully sought an apology from Murdoch’s company in 2017.
Harry was not present for the hearing, which came days after the conclusion of his seven-week phone-hacking trial against Mirror Group Newspapers. He hopes to take the Sun to trial in January as part of his legal battles with the British media, which could include a further phone-hacking trial against the publisher of the Daily Mail.
Harry said he learned of the supposed agreement between Murdoch’s company and the royals at some point around 2012 but remained vague on its details, including who brokered the deal and who told him about it. No written copy of any agreement has been shown to the court.
Anthony Hudson, the barrister for News Group Newspapers, said the prince did not even know who told him about the supposed deal, let alone who supposedly agreed on each side. He said: “His case is legally flawed. His factual case is fundamentally flawed.”
News Group Newspapers has found itself in the unusual position of denying that the Sun engaged in illegal activity while arguing on a procedural point that Prince Harry should have suspected illegal activity at the Sun at an earlier date.
It has had some success with this tactic, recently blocking fellow claimant Hugh Grant from bringing a phone-hacking claim against the Sun after convincing a judge that he had waited too long to file his case – although the actor will be allowed to sue over alleged illegal activity by private investigators.
News Group Newspapers has always said phone hacking only took place at the defunct News of the World. However, in recent years Murdoch’s company has made substantial payouts to a growing number of people who allege their voicemails were intercepted by the Sun, without admitting any liability.
The statuses of Prince Harry’s phone-hacking cases against UK newspaper groups
Mirror Group Newspapers: Trial finished on Friday, after Harry gave evidence in early June. Judgment expected in autumn.
News Group Newspapers, publisher of the Sun: Awaiting the outcome of Wednesday’s hearing, with a ruling expected in the coming weeks on whether Harry can take the case to trial in January.
Associated Newspapers, publisher of the Daily Mail: Awaiting the outcome of a hearing that took place in March, with a ruling expected in the coming weeks on whether Harry can take the case to trial sometime in 2024.
