Prince Harry breaks silence as he wins huge privacy battle in landmark case against The Sun publisher

The Duke of Sussex has settled his High Court claim against the publisher of The Sun, News Group Newspapers (NGN) over allegations of unlawful information-gathering.

The settlement marks the end of a five-year battle between Prince Harry and the NGN. On Wednesday morning, Harry's barrister David Sherborne said that the parties had "reached an agreement" and that NGN had offered an apology to the Duke and would pay "substantial damages".

He also issued an official statement, shedding light on major findings and celebrating a “monumental victory” as "News UK is finally held to account for its illegal actions and its blatant disregard for the law”.

Prince Harry's statement in full

David Sherborne issued the following statement on behalf of Prince Harry: “In a monumental victory today, News UK have admitted that The Sun, the flagship title for Rupert Murdoch’s UK media empire, has indeed engaged in illegal practices. This represents a vindication for the hundreds of other claimants who were strong-armed into settling, without being able to get to the truth of what was done to them. After endless resistance, denials and legal battles by News Group Newspapers, including spending more than a billion pounds in payouts and in legal costs, as well as paying off those in the know to prevent the full picture from coming out, News UK is finally held to account for its illegal actions and its blatant disregard for the law.

"It has also specifically admitted wrongdoing against Tom Watson and admitted unlawful acts by The Sun, as well as by the News of the World, against Prince Harry.“The truth that has now been exposed is that NGN unlawfully engaged more than 100 private investigators over at least 16 years on more than 35,000 occasions. This happened as much at The Sun as it did at the News of the World, with the knowledge of all the editors and executives, going to the very top of the company.

“What’s even worse is that in the wake of the 2006 arrest of a royal correspondent, there was an extensive conspiracy to cover up what really had been going on and who knew about it. Senior executives deliberately obstructed justice by deleting over 30 million emails, destroying back-up tapes, and making false denials – all in the face of an ongoing police investigation. They then repeatedly lied under oath to cover their tracks – both in court and at the Leveson public inquiry.

“At her trial, in 2014 Rebekah Brooks, said 'When I was editor of The Sun we ran a clean ship'. Now, 10 years later when she is CEO of the company, they now admit, when she was editor of The Sun, they ran a criminal enterprise. Far from being relics of a distant past, many of those behind these unlawful practices remain firmly entrenched in senior positions today, both within News UK and other media outlets across the world, wielding editorial power and perpetuating the toxic culture in which they continue to thrive.

"It's perhaps no surprise that all of their senior executives and editors refused to turn up to court to give evidence. The failure of each of these key individuals to come and answer questions under oath spoke volumes in itself, but their collective silence is deafening. Today's result has been achieved only through the sheer resilience of Prince Harry and Tom Watson, whose willingness to take newsgroup newspapers to trial has led directly to this historic admission of unlawfulness at the site. It has only been by taking News Group not just to the steps of court, but inside the courtroom itself, that these claimants have finally managed to extract this historic admission of guilt.

"As a direct result of him taking a stand, Prince Harry and his immediate family have also had to repeatedly withstand aggressive and vengeful coverage since starting his claim over 5 years ago.This has created serious concerns for the security of him and his family. The rule of law must now run its full course. Prince Harry and Tom Watson join others in calling for the police and Parliament to investigate not only the unlawful activity now finally admitted, but the perjury and cover ups along the way.It is clear now that this has occurred throughout this process, including through sworn evidence in inquiries and court hearings in testimony to parliament, and until today's final collapse of News Group's defense.

Mr Sherborne concluded: "Today the lies are laid bare. Today the cover-ups are exposed, and today proves that no one stands above the law. The time for accountability has arrived. Thank you very much."

News Group Newspaper's apology

Following the settlement, NGN offered Harry a "full and unequivocal apology for the serious intrusion by The Sun into his private life".

It reads: "NGN offers a full and unequivocal apology to the Duke of Sussex for the serious intrusion by The Sun between 1996 and 2011 into his private life, including incidents of unlawful activities carried out by private investigators working for The Sun.

“NGN also offers a full and unequivocal apology to the Duke of Sussex for the phone hacking, surveillance and misuse of private information by journalists and private investigators instructed by them at the News of the World. NGN further apologises to the duke for the impact on him of the extensive coverage and serious intrusion into his private life as well as the private life of Diana, Princess of Wales, his late mother, in particular during his younger years.

“We acknowledge and apologise for the distress caused to the duke, and the damage inflicted on relationships, friendships and family, and have agreed to pay him substantial damages. It is also acknowledged, without any admission of illegality, that NGN’s response to the 2006 arrests and subsequent actions were regrettable.

“NGN also offers a full and unequivocal apology to Lord Watson for the unwarranted intrusion carried out into his private life during his time in government by the News of the World during the period 2009-2011. This includes him being placed under surveillance in 2009 by journalists at the News of the World and those instructed by them. NGN also acknowledges and apologises for the adverse impact this had on Lord Watson’s family and has agreed to pay him substantial damages.

“In addition, in 2011 News International received information that information was being passed covertly to Lord Watson from within News International. We now understand that this information was false, and Lord Watson was not in receipt of any such confidential information. NGN apologises fully and unequivocally for this.”

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Delays to the trial

News of Harry's settlement comes after the trial was delayed twice on Tuesday before a request was made by barristers for both sides for a third adjournment until 10am on Wednesday.

David Sherborne, barrister for the Duke and Lord Watson (another claimant), said: "Mr Hudson and I would not be asking for further time if we did not think it stood any prospect of potentially saving a lot of court time."

When Harry, 40, lodged his claim over five years ago, he accused NGN of unlawful information gathering. Between 1996 and 2011, he claimed that journalists and private investigators employed by NGN illegally accessed his personal information.

Around 40 other claimants, including the likes of Hugh Grant and Sienna Miller, have already settled claims against Murdoch's group.

Others who have settled cases include: ex-footballer Paul Gascoigne; comic Catherine Tate; radio presenter Chris Moyles; Spice Girl Melanie Chisholm; former Boyzone member Shane Lynch and actor Mathew Horne.

At a summit held in New York in December last year, the Duke said some 1,300 people had settled their claims, adding: "They've settled because they've had to settle. So therefore, one of the main reasons for seeing this through is accountability, because I'm the last person that can actually achieve that."

Harry launched his legal action in September 2019 – the same week that his wife Meghan Markle took legal action after a private letter was published.

A spokesperson for NGN previously said: "In 2011, an apology was published by NGN to victims of voicemail interception by the News Of The World. The company publicly committed to paying financial compensation and since then has paid settlements to those with claims.

"In some cases, particularly those relating to The Sun, it has made commercial sense, and in accordance with common litigation practice, for the parties to come to a financial settlement without NGN accepting liability.

"These civil proceedings have been running for many years and concern only historical events from between 14 and 29 years ago.

"There are two outstanding cases which have not managed to come to a resolution and are proceeding to trial next week, relating to Lord Watson of Wyre Forest and the Duke of Sussex.

"Lord Watson makes allegations of unlawful information gathering and phone hacking concentrating on the period 2009-2011. NGN strongly denies that any of its titles hacked Mr Watson or acted unlawfully and will also argue his claim is brought out of time.

"The duke alleges unlawful information gathering from 1996-2011. His allegations of mobile-phone hacking have been struck out by the court so will not be part of the trial."

They continued: "His claim focuses now on allegations of unlawful information gathering by enquiry agents and alleged private investigators instructed by NGN journalists mainly in the early 2000s."