Prince Harry’s latest court case has faced a major setback as a judge has thrown out key evidence. The 41-year-old is one of a group of seven high-profile individuals bringing legal action against Associated Newspapers Limited [ANL].
An allegation that the publisher of the Daily Mail newspaper commissioned “burglary to order” cannot go to an upcoming trial in claims made by Harry and the other high-profile individuals, a High Court judge has said. The group, which also includes Elton John and Liz Hurley, have accused the publisher of allegedly carrying out or commissioning unlawful activities such as accessing private phone conversations and hiring private investigators to place listening devices inside cars.
Having denied the allegations, ANL has previously described the claims made against them as “lurid” and “simply preposterous”.
In his 16-page ruling, Mr Justice Nicklin said that resolving these allegations had become “extremely complex” and an “involved side-show”.
He said: “Even if proved true, they cannot assist in the fair resolution of the claimants’ claims. It is not alleged that this incident has any connection with any claimant, or any pleaded journalist.”
He continued: “The events took place over 30 years ago. This is not a small area of the case. It is now a substantial dispute of fact.
“The costs and resources that would be devoted to resolving the factual dispute would, I am satisfied, be out of all proportion to any possible evidential value. Put bluntly, it has become a complex and involved side-show.”
Later in his decision, the judge said it would not be helpful to deciding the individuals’ claims to determine whether unlawful information gathering was “widely and habitually carried out” at ANL.
He, however, added that the group of high-profile individuals can use previous incidents of unlawful information gathering involving a journalist while they were at a different paper in their claims. A further preliminary hearing is expected to take place next month.
This news come just hours after Harry stepped out alongside his wife Meghan Markle for a series of appearances to mark World Mental Health Day in New York City.
