Prince Harry Back In UK For Phone-tapping Legal Proceedings
Surprise appearance at High Court
Prince Harry has made a surprise appearance at the High Court in London as legal proceedings began in a phone-tapping and privacy case involving Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL). It is believed to be the first time the Duke of Sussex has been back in the UK since the funeral last September of his grandmother, the Queen.
High-profile claimants
The 38-year-old prince is among a group of seven high-profile claimants including singer Sir Elton John and his husband filmmaker David Furnish, actresses Liz Hurley and Sadie Frost, Baroness Doreen Lawrence and Liberal Democrat politician Sir Simon Hughes. They are all making accusations against the publisher of the Daily Mail newspaper.
Allegations of criminal activity
They allege they have been victims of "abhorrent criminal activity" and "gross breaches of privacy" by Associated Newspapers - and announced in October they were bringing claims for misuse of private information against ANL, also the publisher of The Mail On Sunday and MailOnline.
ANL denies claims
ANL denies the claims and said they should be dismissed without a trial.
A preliminary High Court hearing starting today will consider legal arguments, and a judge will decide whether it will go any further.
What's Sir Elton John alleging?
Sir Elton and Furnish's landline at their Windsor home was tapped by a private investigator on ANL's instructions, the court was told.
Baroness Lawrence's allegations
Baroness Doreen Lawrence believes the murder of her son Stephen in Eltham, southeast London, in 1993 was "exploited" by ANL, the court heard.
Harry's return and tensions with the Palace
Prince Harry's return to the UK comes amid tensions with Buckingham Palace over bombshell disclosures made in his controversial memoir, Spare, in which he laid bare his troubled relationship with his father, King Charles, and brother William, the Prince of Wales.
ANL says allegations 'stale'
Lawyers representing ANL told the hearing, before Mr Justice Nicklin, the privacy claims are "stale" and should be dismissed without trial.
Multiple cases
The duke has an ongoing libel case against Associated Newspapers over an article about his security arrangements in the Mail on Sunday.
In May, he will go to trial against Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN) over accusations of phone hacking between 1996 and 2011.
He is also suing News Group Newspapers (NGN), the publisher of The Times, The Sunday Times and The Sun newspapers for alleged phone hacking.
Credit: https://news.sky.com/story/prince-harry-arrives-at-high-court-for-phone-tapping-and-privacy-case-12843423
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