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Rupert Murdoch’s UK tabloid newspaper operation, News Group Newspapers (NGN), has reached a watershed moment by admitting to unlawful activities at The Sun and agreeing to pay “substantial damages” to Prince Harry.
The High Court in London heard on Wednesday that NGN offered the Duke of Sussex a “full and unequivocal apology” for privacy intrusions spanning 15 years until 2011. This admission delivers a significant blow to the Murdoch empire, occurring 13 years after the News of the World’s closure amidst the phone-hacking scandal.
The settlement, understood to include an eight-figure payout to the prince, enables NGN to sidestep what promised to be an extensive and high-profile court case. The company’s statement expressed particular remorse regarding their treatment of Diana, Princess of Wales, acknowledging “incidents of unlawful activities” conducted by private investigators between 1996 and 2011.
NGN has invested more than £1 billion in costs and settlements to resolve phone-hacking claims, whilst maintaining a decade-long denial of wrongdoing at The Sun. The publisher’s admission notably excludes any acknowledgement of senior executive culpability.
Former Labour deputy leader Lord Tom Watson, who shared claimant status with Prince Harry, also received “substantial damages” and an apology for “unwarranted intrusion” by the News of the World between 2009 and 2011. The settlement brings relief to senior Murdoch executives, including Rebekah Brooks, current News UK chief executive, and Will Lewis, The Washington Post’s publisher.
The resolution marks a crucial victory in Prince Harry’s ongoing campaign against British tabloid press, whom he holds responsible for his mother’s tragic death in 1997. The duke previously secured £140,600 in damages from Mirror Group Newspapers and maintains active claims against Associated Newspapers, the Daily Mail’s publisher.
This settlement necessitates additional compensation from Murdoch’s US broadcaster Fox, which bears responsibility for all costs under the News Corp and 21st Century Fox separation terms. The arrangement mirrors Fox’s £787.5 million settlement of the Dominion voting machine defamation case in 2023.
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