New curbs on media misconduct are being considered by the Starmer government in the light of Prince Harry’s settlement with The Sun.
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy praised the Duke of Sussex after he settled with the masthead’s publisher, News Group Newspapers, and said government action was vital to ensure people without his power and wealth were able to obtain justice in disputes with newspapers.
“It is important we have proper safeguards in place to make sure that people don’t have to resort to very expensive and lengthy court processes to get justice,” Ms Nandy told the BBC.
Prince Harry had alleged that journalists and private investigators working for NGN – which also published the now-defunct News of the World – had unlawfully targeted him.
His barrister David Sherborne said NGN offered a “full and unequivocal apology” to the Duke of Sussex for intrusions into his private life between 1996 and 2011, “including incidents of unlawful activities carried out by private investigators working for The Sun.”
Part of NGN’s apology said: “NGN offers a full and unequivocal apology to the Duke of Sussex for the serious intrusion by The Sun between 1996 and 2011 into his private life, including incidents of unlawful activities carried out by private investigators working for The Sun.
“NGN also offers a full and unequivocal apology to the Duke of Sussex for the phone hacking, surveillance and misuse of private information by journalists and private investigators instructed by them at the News of the World.”
Ms Nandy said the government was determined to grip the issue - and would make sure The Sun fulfilled its promise to prevent such conduct in future.
She added the government would ensure “there are robust processes in place to make sure the illegal activities The Sun alluded to in their statement (made after the court case) cannot happen again. They say they have robust processes but it is really important that we as a government make sure that is the case.”
She said Prince Harry had “every right” to have taken action against The Sun, and said she believed the outcome of the court case was a relief for Harry and fellow litigant, Labour’s Lord Tom Watson.
“The impact of this sort of behaviour lasts a lifetime,” she said, adding “not everybody has the access to justice that would enable them to pursue a case through the courts.”
She said that point had been brought home to her in meetings with ordinary families who had complained about press misconduct but lacked the resources to obtain legal redress.
“Wealthy and powerful people in the public eye who have a platform have been able to shine a spotlight on what has been happening to ordinary people who wouldn’t otherwise have been able to get that into the public domain. That is clearly unsatisfactory,” Ms Nandy said.
She said that while the government was committed to protecting a “free and fair press” she also had to address “the very legitimate concerns of many of the families who have been through similar instances of intrusion.”
