The Duke of Sussex is attempting to turn his case against the publishers of the Sun into a “public inquiry” to seek accountability for others who have already settled claims, the high court has heard.
Prince Harry faces up to four days of “very extensive” questioning in the witness box in the legal action he and Tom Watson, a former Labour deputy prime minister, brought against News Group Newspapers (NGN) over allegations of unlawful information gathering. NGN denies the allegations.
The court heard at a pre-trial hearing that there were nearly 60 proposed witnesses on behalf of the claimants and 65 on behalf of the defendants. The judge, Justice Fancourt, said that “simply does not work” in the eight-week timeframe for the trial, which is scheduled to start in January.
Anthony Hudson KC, for NGN, accused the claimants of trying to call irrelevant witnesses over “generic issues” relating to their allegations.
Referring to a transcript of an interview Harry gave at a New York Times event last week, he said the duke had claimed people were forced to settle claims for financial reasons. He quoted him saying there was “no justice for any of these claimants, which now stands at about 1,300 claimants”.
He said Harry had added: “They’ve settled because they’ve had to settle. So, therefore, one of the main reasons for seeing this through is accountability, because I am that last person that can actually achieve that, and also closure for those 1,300 people and families.”
Hudson told the judge: “We say what this is clearly about is almost by definition a public inquiry. That is what the duke is seeking. That’s what he’s trying to achieve through this litigation.
“Civil litigation must not be turned into a public inquiry”.
The duke’s case and the witnesses called should focus on the 30 articles and 20 episodes at issue in the trial, and not include previously settled cases which the duke now sought to “re-litigate”, Hudson said.
David Sherborne, for the claimants, said the defendants had “restricted what they say is relevant in order to suit their position because they don’t want generic findings made”.
In written argument, he said NGN “seeks to limit the number of journalists to just 23 [appearing to exclude without explanation almost all editorial/executive staff and desk executives]”.
Fancourt said both sides needed to focus on the essential issues in the timeframe set. “It is not a public inquiry, and there are time constraints,” he said.
Harry alleges he was targeted by journalists and private investigators working for NGN, which also published the now defunct News of the World. Watson claims he was a target for NGN’s “unlawful activities” as a member of the culture, media and sport select committee which was investigating media malpractice.
The publisher has previously denied unlawful activity took place at the Sun. The hearing is expected to conclude on Wednesday afternoon.
