Prince Harry has reached a settlement with newspapers owned by media tycoon Rupert Murdoch. The agreement concerns the illegal collection of information by Murdoch-owned press titles. As part of the agreement, they have already issued an official apology, and Harry is also to receive huge compensation from them. “A monumental victory, the lies have been exposed,” the prince said in a statement.
Prince Harry's lawyers have reached an agreement with representatives of News Group Newspapers (NGN), a media company owned by Rupert Murdoch. The group agreed to pay “significant compensation,” reports Reuters. She does not reveal the specific amount in question, but notes that it is an eight-digit sum.
“In today's monumental victory, News UK has admitted that The Sun, the flagship of Rupert Murdoch's media empire in the UK, did engage in illegal practices,” said a joint statement from Prince Harry and Tom Watson. “Today the lies were exposed. Today what was hidden was revealed. And today it proves that no one is above the law. It's time to take responsibility,” it added.
Harry and News Group Newspapers Agreement. The company apologizes to the prince
As part of the settlement, NGN admitted that Harry was a victim of unlawful activity by associates of the tabloid “The Sun” and was wiretapped by the now defunct “News of the World”. The company issued an official apology to the prince. They raised the issue of “serious interference” in the life of the British monarch's son.
Examples of irregularities against Harry included, among others: on the activities of private detectives hired by “The Sun”. There was also mention of eavesdropping on the 40-year-old's conversations and other manifestations of his “surveillance”. These were allegedly committed by journalists of the once popular “News of the World”.
NGN Group also apologized for the impact its reporting on Harry and his late brand, Princess Dianathey could have had a prince. “We apologize for the suffering the Prince has suffered and for the damage caused to his relationships, friendships and family ties,” the statement added. As NBC News reminds, the prince sued the company in 2019. The trial in the case was scheduled to start this week.
Prince HarryJordan Pettitt/PA Images via Getty Images
Wiretapping scandal in Great Britain
The wiretapping used by the British tabloid press became famous in 2011. Initially, it was thought that the case concerned only Rupert Murdoch's “News of the World”. Then it turned out that similar practices were also used by “The Sun” newspaper, owned by the same owner, and the competing “Daily Mirror”. In order to obtain materials for sensational articles, the voicemails and e-mail boxes of celebrities, politicians and even crime victims were hacked.
News Group Newspapers has paid out millions of pounds in settlements with more than a thousand other people whose telephone voicemails were hacked and tapped for years by journalists from the Sun and the closed News of The World. The case against News Group Newspapers is one of three that Harry brought against British tabloids, accusing them of illegally collecting information. The other two cases concerned the Daily Mirror and the Daily Mail.
Reuters, NBC News, tvn24.pl
Main photo source: Jordan Pettitt/PA Images via Getty Images