A High Court judge has decided that the Duke of Sussex is not permitted to expand the scope of his lawsuit against News Group Newspapers (NGN) to include fresh accusations against Rupert Murdoch.
Due to alleged illegal information-gathering, Prince Harry and actor Hugh Grant are suing NGN, the publisher of The Sun and the now-defunct News of the World.
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Judge Fancourt decided on Tuesday that the new allegations against “trophy targets” like Mr. Murdoch and other high-ranking NGN executives could not be brought to a trial that was set for January of the following year. He said the allegations added “nothing substantial,” but allowed for some additional modifications.
“I also consider that the people managing the claimants’ side of the litigation want to aim their gunfire at ‘trophy’ targets, which could be political issues or well-known individuals,” he continued. This cannot become a goal unto itself; the court will only consider it relevant and appropriate in addressing each individual cause of action. The trial is not a research project.
Earlier this year, barristers for a number of plaintiffs suing the company asserted that Mr. Murdoch “turned a blind eye” to the charges because he was in charge of a “culture of impunity” at the publisher and knew of illegal activity as early as 2004.
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They requested that the court amend the Duke’s claim to include claims that NGN had improperly collected the 39-year-old’s personal information since the age of nine, and to update certain parts of their case in light of new information.
NGN refutes the allegations, stating in court earlier that the latest allegations were a “scurrilous and cynical attack.”
Regarding Harry’s claim, Mr. Justice Fancourt declared that the Duke could only make limited modifications to his specific case, stating that he was not permitted to add fresh accusations of phone hacking or new claims from 1994, 1995, or 2016.
However, he gave Harry permission to “in principle” amend the case to include the names of “certain further journalists and private investigators” and to include claims of “landline voicemail interception”.
The trial for Harry’s claim is scheduled for January 2025.
An NGN representative stated: “The claimants attempted to include extensive allegations in their pleadings during a hearing held in March 2024.
“NGN contended that several of these had nothing to do with obtaining recompense for victims of phone hacking or illegal information gathering, and that they were unrelated to the equitable and just resolution of claims.
“The court in its judgement today has thoroughly vindicated NGN’s position and did not give permission to introduce large and significant portions of the amendments.”
