The UK’s High Court has ruled against Prince Harry‘s request to broaden his phone hacking lawsuit against News Group Newspapers, thereby excluding Rupert Murdoch and Piers Morgan from the litigation.
On May 21st, Mr. Justice Fancourt delivered a ruling that declared individual accusations aimed at Harry’s “trophy targets” Murdoch, 93, and Morgan, 59, as not “material” to the ongoing case. The trial is set to commence in January of 2025 and this ruling further supports its trajectory.
Judge Prevents Prince Harry From Bringing Piers Morgan And Rupert Murdoch Into Phone Hacking Case As 'Trophy Targets'
In a legal battle against News Group Newspapers (the entity behind the publications of The Sun and News of the World), the Duke of Sussex, 39, and a group of 40 individuals are suing due to purported incidents of phone hacking and the unlawful gathering of information. The defendant has denied these claims.
Fancourt, 59, articulated that he was preventing the inclusion of what he referred to as "trophy targets" in the ongoing legal proceedings, highlighting that this should not be viewed as a self-serving objective or an "end in itself."
Despite Harry's efforts, he was not granted authorization to incorporate claims that occurred prior to 1996 and after 2011 into his allegations, as most of the phone hacking allegations for that timeframe have already been addressed in either criminal or civil courts.
Reuters previously reported that Harry sought to expand the scope of his lawsuit to encompass reports about his mother, the late Princess Diana, published during the mid-1990s. In addition, he wanted to include more dating back to 2016 when he and now wife Meghan Markle began dating.
Harry has also made accusations that NGN newspaper The Sun employed private investigators to spy on the Duchess of Sussex, 42.
Regarding Harry's associations with Murdoch, News Group Newspapers is owned by the investor and media proprietor. On the other hand, Morgan, who has an acrimonious and sustained feud with the the Spare author, had been at the helm of News of the World for almost two years starting from 1994.
News Group Newspapers said in a recent statement: "The court in its judgment today has thoroughly vindicated NGN’s position and did not give permission to introduce large and significant portions of the amendments … NGN welcomes the judge’s decisions and comments."
Harry's legal team has been granted preliminary approval to identify and level accusations against "certain further journalists and private investigators."
