Prince Harry ‘deliberately destroyed’ potential evidence in phone hacking case, court hears
Prince Harry has been accused of “deliberately destroying” potential evidence relating to his High Court phone hacking claim against the publisher of The Sun, a court has heard.
The Duke of Sussex, 39, was awarded $180,700 in December after London’s High Court ruled he had been the victim of “modest” phone-hacking and other unlawful information gathering by journalists on British newspapers.
But now, more than six months after the ruling, an attorney for the publisher of the British tabloid has accused Harry of engaging in “shocking” and “extraordinary” obfuscation.
Attorney Anthony Hudson said at High Court that Harry had deliberately destroyed text messages with the ghostwriter who penned his bombshell memoir, “Spare,” released in Jan. 2023.
The Duke’s lawyer has denied the claims, saying News Group Newspapers was engaging in a “classic fishing expedition” by requesting documents so late in the case.
“NGN’s tactical and sluggish approach to disclosure wholly undermines the deliberately sensational assertion that the claimant [Harry] has not properly carried out the disclosure exercise,” Harry’s attorney, David Sherborne, said in court papers.
“This is untrue. In fact, the claimant has already made clear that he has conducted extensive searches, going above and beyond his obligations.”
In response, Hudson claimed that the father of two had created an “obstacle course” to the documents the publisher is seeking.
“If the claimant wanted his documents from his former solicitors’ or from the royal household … he would have got them,” the attorney said.
The court heard that the Duke of Sussex must now personally disclose how drafts of his protocol-shattering book, as well as messages between him and his ghostwriter, were destroyed “well after” he launched the lawsuit in 2019.
On Thursday, Justice Timothy Fancourt, presiding, said it was “troubling” that the documents had been wiped after the case was already underway.
Justice Fancourt said efforts must now be made to retrieve messages between Harry and JR Moehringer, his ghostwriter.
The Judge had also ordered the royal’s legal team to write to the King’s private secretary, his treasurer and keeper of the Privy Purse, asking them to submit all records of communication with Harry.
The Post has reached out to reps for the Duke of Sussex for comment.
The prince – who became the first senior British royal for 130 years to give evidence in court when he appeared as the star witness at the trial in June 2023 – had sued Mirror Group Newspapers, the publisher of the Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror and Sunday People in 2019.
Harry said he was targeted by MGN for 15 years from 1996 and that more than 140 stories which appeared in its papers were the result of unlawful information gathering, though the trial only considered 33 of these.
With Post wires
Prince Harry ‘deliberately destroyed’ potential evidence in phone hacking case, court hears
Prince Harry ‘deliberately destroyed’ potential evidence in phone hacking case, court hears © Provided by New York Post
The Duke of Sussex, 39, was awarded $180,700 in December following the case at London’s High Court.
The Duke of Sussex, 39, was awarded $180,700 in December following the case at London’s High Court. © ZUMAPRESS.com
An attorney for the publisher of the British tabloid has accused Harry of engaging in “shocking” and “extraordinary” obfuscation.
An attorney for the publisher of the British tabloid has accused Harry of engaging in “shocking” and “extraordinary” obfuscation. © Tayfun Salci/Zuma / SplashNews.com
The Duke’s lawyer has denied the claims, saying News Group Newspapers was engaging in a “classic fishing expedition.”
The Duke’s lawyer has denied the claims, saying News Group Newspapers was engaging in a “classic fishing expedition.” © AP
Harry had sued Mirror Group Newspapers, the publisher of the Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror and Sunday People in 2019.
Harry had sued Mirror Group Newspapers, the publisher of the Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror and Sunday People in 2019. © NEIL HALL/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
The Duke of Sussex, 39, was awarded $180,700 in December following the case at London’s High Court. ZUMAPRESS.com
The Duke of Sussex, 39, was awarded $180,700 in December following the case at London’s High Court. ZUMAPRESS.com © Provided by New York Post
An attorney for the publisher of the British tabloid has accused Harry of engaging in “shocking” and “extraordinary” obfuscation. Tayfun Salci/Zuma / SplashNews.com
An attorney for the publisher of the British tabloid has accused Harry of engaging in “shocking” and “extraordinary” obfuscation. Tayfun Salci/Zuma / SplashNews.com © Provided by New York Post
The Duke’s lawyer has denied the claims, saying News Group Newspapers was engaging in a “classic fishing expedition.” AP
The Duke’s lawyer has denied the claims, saying News Group Newspapers was engaging in a “classic fishing expedition.” AP © Provided by New York Post
Harry had sued Mirror Group Newspapers, the publisher of the Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror and Sunday People in 2019. NEIL HALL/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
Harry had sued Mirror Group Newspapers, the publisher of the Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror and Sunday People in 2019. NEIL HALL/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock © Provided by New York Post
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Prince Harry Ordered by Judge to Explain ‘Destroyed’ Messages with Memoir Ghostwriter amid Privacy Case
Story by Stephanie Petit
• 13h • 3 min read
The judge said he’s seen “troubling evidence” that “potentially relevant” documents and Harry’s messages with the ghostwriter of ‘Spare’ were wiped after the claim was underway
Prince Harry has been ordered to explain how potential evidence has gone missing in his lawsuit against the publishers of a British tabloid after he was accused of destroying documents and communications.
Attorney Anthony Hudson — representing the publisher of The Sun, News Group Newspapers (NGN) — told the court on June 27 that the Duke of Sussex, 39, deleted drafts of his 2023 memoir, Spare, as well as messages with the book’s ghostwriter, J.R. Moehringer.
Justice Fancourt said he’s seen “troubling evidence that a large number of potentially relevant documents and confidential messages between the Duke and the ghostwriter of Spare were destroyed sometime between 2021 and 2023, well after this claim was underway,” according to The Telegraph.
The judge said the lack of documentation was “rather remarkable” and gave him “cause for concern,” the outlet reported. Adding it was “not transparently clear about what happened,” the judge asked Prince Harry, who was not present in court, for a witness statement explaining “what happened to the messages between himself and his ghostwriter and whether any attempts were made to retrieve them.”
Related: Prince Harry Will Be Honored with the Pat Tillman Award for Service at 2024 ESPYS
Prince Harry’s attorney David Sherborne accused NGN of a “transparent, old-fashioned fishing expedition,” according to court papers obtained by PEOPLE.
“NGN’s tactical and sluggish approach to disclosure wholly undermines the deliberately sensational assertion that [the Duke of Sussex] has not properly carried out the disclosure exercise,” Sherborne said in court documents. “This is untrue. In fact, the Claimant has already made clear that he has conducted extensive searches, going above and beyond his obligations.”
Sherborne added that these measures have included a physical search of Prince Harry’s California home, confirming old email addresses were no longer accessible and making inquiries to the “Royal Household” about relevant documents.
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Prince Harry is one of the dozens suing NGN over claims of invasions of privacy by their journalists and investigators between 1994 and 2016. Some of the cases are likely to be heard at a trial in January 2025.
Related: Prince Harry Comforts Woman Reliving Moment She Told 5-Year-Old Son of Dad’s Death
The Duke of Sussex has recently been involved in four lawsuits against newspaper publishers in the U.K. over allegations of phone hacking and other unlawful acts.
Separately, Prince Harry lost his legal challenge to have police security in the U.K. earlier this year. He previously said he “felt forced” to step back from his royal role and leave the U.K. in 2020, citing security concerns for his family — his wife, Meghan Markle, and their two children, Prince Archie, 5, and Princess Lilibet, 3 — but High Court judge Peter Lane upheld the decision by the U.K. government not to give them automatic protection in the country and downgrade his security.
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Read the original article on People.
Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Prince Harry arrives at the Royal Courts of Justice in London on March 30, 2023
Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Prince Harry arrives at the Royal Courts of Justice in London on March 30, 2023 © Provided by People
Neil Mockford/GC Images Prince Harry arrives to give evidence at the Mirror Group Phone hacking trial at High Court on June 7, 2023 in London
Neil Mockford/GC Images Prince Harry arrives to give evidence at the Mirror Group Phone hacking trial at High Court on June 7, 2023 in London © Provided by People
Leon Neal/Getty Images David Sherbourne reads a written statement on behalf of client Prince Harry following the ruling in his favour in a lawsuit against the Mirror Group on December 15, 2023 in London
Leon Neal/Getty Images David Sherbourne reads a written statement on behalf of client Prince Harry following the ruling in his favour in a lawsuit against the Mirror Group on December 15, 2023 in London © Provided by People
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