By BRIAN MELLEY (Associated Press)
In London, Prince Harry claimed that The Sun tabloid publisher unlawfully intercepted phone calls of his late mother, Princess Diana, and his father, who is now King Charles III, as he tried to extend his privacy invasion lawsuit against News Group Newspapers.
During a three-day hearing in the High Court, the Duke of Sussex is requesting permission to add the new claims to his ongoing legal action, supported by evidence largely obtained from materials provided by NGN, a subsidiary of Rupert Murdoch's media empire, as stated by his lawyer.
Lawyer David Sherborne revealed that the eavesdropping on Diana, her then-estranged husband Charles, Prince of Wales, and his then paramour Camilla Parker Bowles, who is now Queen Camilla, inadvertently exposed private information about Harry from as early as age 9.
According to the amended complaint, Diana suspected she was being followed and that her calls were being listened to. Articles in The Sun and now-defunct News of the World referred to Diana's conversations with close confidants, revealing that journalists and paparazzi had inside knowledge of her whereabouts, including her therapy sessions.
In court documents, Sherborne stated, “The defendant’s newspapers described his late mother’s concerns as ’paranoid delusions,’ when in reality she was under close surveillance and her calls were being unlawfully intercepted by (NGN), which was known by its editors and senior executives.”
The new claims in Harry’s case arise after allegations raised by his lawyer in the High Court, implicating Murdoch in the cover-up of unlawful information gathering at his newspapers, or at the very least, turning a blind eye to it.
Harry is one of 45 claimants, including actor Hugh Grant and filmmaker Guy Ritchie, alleging that News Group journalists violated their privacy between 1994 and 2016 through widespread unlawful activities such as intercepting voicemails, tapping phones, bugging cars, and using deception to access confidential information.
The claims also suggest that executives lied about the wrongdoing and oversaw an effort to delete millions of emails and “buy” the silence of those who might reveal the truth about what occurred.
Defense lawyer Anthony Hudson dismissed the new allegations as a ploy to grab headlines, claiming that Harry had waited too long to bring them and had not followed court procedure in doing so. He argued that the new allegations were a distraction from the issues in the case, which is tentatively scheduled for trial in January.
NGN released a statement rejecting the new allegations as “unjustified inferences in a scurrilous and cynical attack” on former journalists, staff, and senior executives at News International, now News UK, the parent company of NGN.
Judge Timothy Fancourt, expected to decide on the application to amend the lawsuit, had previously rejected News Group's attempts to dismiss the case on the grounds that it was filed beyond the six-year limitation period.
However, the judge agreed with the newspaper that Harry and Grant could not pursue claims that journalists had listened to their voicemails because the news of the phone hacking scandal was so widely known that they should have been aware of the activity to file lawsuits within the deadline.
Harry’s legal action against News Group Newspapers is one of three he has taken against Britain’s largest tabloids for alleged unlawful actions carried out by journalists and private investigators hired by them, which came to light after a phone hacking scandal emerged at News of the World in 2011.
Harry, 39, the younger son of King Charles III, has utilized the courts in his campaign against the media that is the cause of numerous personal grievances.
He holds the news media responsible for his mother's death in a car accident while being chased by paparazzi. He also cited unbearable intrusions and racist attitudes of the British media as one of the reasons he and his biracial wife, former actor Meghan Markle, relocated to the U.S.
His new allegations include claims that The Sun hired a private investigator to unearth personal information about Meghan, such as her Social Security number, mobile phone number, and details about her family.
In December, Harry's legal efforts were successful when Fancourt determined that phone hacking at Mirror Group Newspapers was “widespread and habitual.” In addition to a court ruling, he recently settled remaining allegations, including his legal fees. The total sum was not disclosed, but he was scheduled to receive an interim payment of 400,000 pounds ($508,000).
He has another case awaiting resolution against the owner of the Daily Mail.
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