Prince Harry's trial against Sun publisher delayed.
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A close-up of Prince Harry, unsmiling and looking into the camera.
Prince Harry, pictured here in August 2024, did not attend Tuesday's hearing.
The opening day of Prince Harry's damages battle against the owners of the Sun newspaper has been postponed as the two sides engage in potential settlement talks after years of legal wrangling.
The Duke's lawyers were set to open an eight-week trial on Tuesday over his claims that journalists at the News Group newspapers used illegal techniques to intrude on his private life - and that executives then covered up the affair.
Moments before they were due to begin presenting their case, they asked for an adjournment.
However, after hours of secret talks and no sign of a final agreement that could change the nature of the trial, the judge ordered both parties to begin - prompting both to say they have asked the court to set aside the order. The practical consequence of their objection is that the matter has been postponed until at least 10pm on Wednesday - meaning both sides have more time to negotiate. It is unclear what exactly was discussed during the last-minute negotiations.
Prince Harry has repeatedly said he wants a trial to take "accountability" for other alleged victims of the illegal collection of private information by NGN journalists.
NGN has denied any wrongdoing at the Sun or that senior executives covered up the matter.
Rupert Murdoch's empire has long acknowledged that journalists at the News of the World, which closed in 2011, used illegal techniques, but has always denied that the practices were widespread.
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This morning, lawyers for Prince Harry and former Labour MP Lord Tom Watson, the other remaining plaintiff, asked Mr Justice Fancourt to adjourn the case twice – meaning the court did not sit until 2am. Prince Harry's lawyer, David Sherborne, arrives at the Royal Courts of Justice in London, wearing a white shirt and black coat and carrying a folder of EPA documents.
Prince Harry's lawyer, David Sherborne, arrives at the Royal Courts of Justice in London
David Sherborne, Prince Harry's lawyer, said there was a "good prospect" of a settlement that would buy court time.
"We are very close, there is an issue with the timing and the receipt of instructions," he said.
"That is not the only factor."
Anthony Hudson KC, speaking for the news group, added that the parties needed more time because of "time differences" and said both sides were involved in the "dynamics of the settlement."
Judge Fancourt — who has repeatedly criticized both sides for lengthy delays and bickering over how to proceed with the case — refused to grant more time, saying the case should proceed even though there were still behind-the-scenes discussions that could change the nature of the judgment. "I'm not convinced that if there was a genuine desire to resolve this issue, it couldn't be done today," the judge said. Lawyers for the group's newspapers later asked the court to sit behind closed doors - without the media present - to learn more about what was going on. The judge refused, saying he would not go "into secrecy" - and Prince Harry's team and NGN's lawyers later said they would ask senior judges to overturn the order to begin with.
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