Prince Harry was “kept out of the loop” over alleged phone hacking by tabloids in relation to the royal household, the High Court has heard.
The Duke of Sussex is suing News Group Newspapers (NGN) over alleged unlawful information gathering at two of its titles, The Sun and the now-defunct News Of The World – claiming that his private information was unlawfully accessed.
NGN is bringing a bid to have Harry’s case thrown out, along with a similar claim by actor Hugh Grant, at a three-day hearing in London which started on Tuesday, arguing they have been brought too late.
But, responding to the publisher’s strike out application, Harry’s lawyers said it is an attempt to go behind a “secret agreement” between the royal family as an institution and NGN, which the duke was informed of in 2012.
David Sherborne, representing Harry, told the court on Wednesday that, before 2012, the duke believed there was only one voicemail which his brother the Prince of Wales left for him that had been intercepted.
The barrister said Harry thought the tabloid press “wouldn’t have been stupid enough to go after his messages, given the security services’ involvement”, and that there were members of royal staff who he was aware believed they had been hacked but he was “kept out of the loop”.
“He was told more in 2012 but that was essentially dealt with by his family, the institution as he described it,” Mr Sherborne said.
“That is no criticism of the [late] Queen or his family, that is how it was done and he accepted it.
“One also has to remember at the times he was on active service in Afghanistan.”
The barrister joked that Harry did not have access to The Guardian newspaper or a lawyer while he was in Afghanistan.
Mr Sherborne added that the Duke of Sussex was following the case online despite the time difference and actor Mr Grant would be attending the final day of the hearing on Thursday.
The barrister said: “The Duke of Sussex has asked me to express his disappointment at being unable to be here. He was unable to be here for these three days but he is also following by video link, despite the challenges of the time difference.”
NGN’s legal team, led by Anthony Hudson KC, claimed that evidence provided by claimants was “inconsistent” and “generic”, emphasising that none of the claims brought against the publisher had any evidence of its involvement in illegal activity.
Mr Hudson KC said that Mr Grant, who has provided evidence as part of the claim along with other star-studded names including Sir Elton John and Sadie Frost, was inconsistent in stating that he was not aware of The Sun’s alleged phone hacking activity.
He argued that tweets and interviews by Mr Grant as far back as 2006 pointed to his knowledge of the alleged phone hacking and therefore he could have brought his claim forward earlier.
He argued that both Prince Harry and Mr Grant have been “at the epicentre” of the scandal since as long ago as 2006 and therefore aware he could have brought a claim sooner, and said his evidence that he was prevented from doing so by a “secret agreement” is “without merit in fact or law”.
In documents before the court, Mr Sherborne said the late Queen was involved in “discussions and authorisation” of the agreement, which was that members of the royal family would not pursue claims against NGN until after the conclusion of the litigation over hacking.
Anthony Hudson KC, for NGN, said the publisher’s position is that “there was no such secret agreement”.
Mr Grant is bringing a separate phone hacking claim against The Sun joined by the 7/7 London bombings survivor John Tulloch, the jockey Kieren Fallon, and David Beckham’s father, Ted.
Rupert Murdoch’s media company has always said illegal voicemail interception only took place at the now defunct News of the World newspaper and no illegality occurred at The Sun.
The hearing is expected to conclude on Thursday and the judge will determine whether their claims will progress to a trial, which would be heard in January next year.
Mr Sherborne said that if NGN loses its application and the case goes to a planned trial, senior News Group executives Rebekah Brooks and Robert Thomson – who he said “were involved in the secret agreement and subsequent negotiations” – will have to give evidence.
NGN has previously settled a number of claims since the phone hacking scandal broke in relation to The News Of The World, which closed in 2011, but has consistently denied that any unlawful information-gathering took place at The Sun.
The hearing will continue on Thursday morning at the High Court.
