The Duke of Sussex is engaged in eleventh-hour settlement talks with the publishers of The Sun on the opening day of his trial, the High Court has heard.
With his high-stakes trial scheduled to begin this morning, both Prince Harry’s and News Group Newspapers (NGN) legal teams made several bids to delay legal proceedings in order to “continue discussions.”
The trial was due to start at 10.30am on Tuesday but was pushed back to 11.30am after a request from both sides, and then delayed again to 2pm following a second request.
In the afternoon, a third request for more time was rejected by Mr Justice Fancourt, who stated the two sides had had “ample time to seek to resolve their differences”. However, after both parties said they would seek to appeal the decision, the case was scheduled to resume on Wednesday.
The Duke of Sussex, fellow claimant Lord Tom Watson and News Group Newspapers (NGN) subsequently made a joint bid to ask for permission to appeal against the decision.
Anthony Hudson KC, acting for the publisher, told the High Court that these were “settlement discussions”, according to the Financial Times.
The Independent has contacted the duke and Lord Watson’s legal representatives for a comment.
Harry, 40, was expected to return to the UK in February to give evidence over several days, supporting his claim that journalists and private investigators working for The Sun targeted him.
He and Labour deputy leader Lord Watson are the last remaining claimants in the High Court case against NGN - which denies the allegations - after many high-profile individuals including actor Hugh Grant already settled claims.
Anthony Hudson KC, said the parties “have been involved in very intense negotiations over the last few days and the reality is we are very close”, adding that there were “time difference difficulties”.
He said: “Very unusually, both parties are in complete agreement that this is a very important step. The number of times the parties have been in agreement in this litigation are very few and far between.”
He continued: “We do believe in the long run that this will give significant benefit to the court.
“For the sake of two hours, we are very concerned that if we don’t have these two hours, something that is capable of being achieved may not be achieved.”
David Sherborne, for the duke and Lord Watson, said: “Mr Hudson and I would not be asking for further time if we did not think it stood any prospect of potentially saving a lot of court time.”
Dismissing the request for a third delay, Mr Justice Fancourt said: “I made it clear this morning when granting the second adjournment that it would be the final adjournment. I see no reason to change my mind.”
He then refused the parties permission to appeal against his decision, but said: “I’m not going to stand in the way of access to justice if the parties wish to go to the Court of Appeal.”
Between July and December last year, 39 people reached settlements with NGN, including actor Hugh Grant, who resolved his claim in April after being warned he risked £10 million in legal costs if his case went to trial.
Other individuals who have settled include actress Sienna Miller, former footballer Paul Gascoigne, comedian Catherine Tate, radio presenter Chris Moyles, Spice Girl Melanie Chisholm, ex-Boyzone member Shane Lynch, and actor Mathew Horne.
Speaking at The New York Times DealBook Summit in December, Harry seemed set on seeing the legal action through and said: “They’ve settled because they’ve had to settle. So therefore, one of the main reasons for seeing this through is accountability, because I’m the last person that can actually achieve that.”
He claims that journalists and private investigators working for NGN targeted him to obtain material for news stories.
In July 2023, the High Court ruled that Harry’s case could proceed to trial, though he was barred from bringing a claim related to phone hacking. The case is now focused on other allegations, including the use of private investigators.
The High Court trial, which could last up to 10 weeks, is set to resume at 10am on Wednesday.
