Prince Harry wins bid for privacy trial against Daily Mail publisher
Prince Harry and stars including Sir Elton John and Liz Hurley have won their bid to take the publisher of the Daily Mail to trial over alleged phone-tapping and other breaches of privacy.
Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL) stood accused of carrying out or commissioning unlawful information gathering, such as hiring private investigators to placing listening devices inside cars, “blagging” private records, and accessing and recording private phone conversations.
The publisher “firmly” denied the allegations. At a preliminary hearing in March, its legal team asked Mr Justice Nicklin to rule in its favour without a trial, arguing the legal challenge had been brought “far too late”.
But in a ruling on Friday, Mr Justice Nicklin said ANL had “not been able to deliver a ‘knockout blow’ to the claims of any of these claimants”.
In his 95-page judgment, he said each of the seven people have a “real prospect” of demonstrating ANL concealed “relevant facts” that would have allowed them to bring a claim against the publisher earlier.
“What was deliberately hidden from the claimants – if they are correct in their allegations – were the underlying unlawful acts that are alleged to have been used to obtain information for subsequent publication,” he added.
Actor Hugh Grant, who is a board director for Hacked Off, a press reform campaign group, described the ruling as a “significant blow to the Daily Mail”.
He added it is “great news” for anyone who “wants the truth about allegations of illegal press practices to come out”.
Elton John is among those making a claim
Harry brought the privacy case along with six others, including Sir Elton‘s husband David Furnish, actress and designer Sadie Frost, Baroness Doreen Lawrence, and former Liberal Democrat MP Sir Simon Hughes.
The royal made an appearance at the Royal Courts of Justice during the four-day hearing in March, with Sir Elton, Ms Frost and Lady Lawrence also attending at times.
What’s alleged?
Lawyers for the claimants have said they had become aware of “highly distressing” evidence revealing they had been victims of “abhorrent criminal activity” and “gross breaches of privacy” by Associated Newspapers.
Accusations include:
• The hiring of private investigators to secretly place listening devices inside people’s cars and homes;
• The commissioning of individuals to surreptitiously listen into and record people’s live, private telephone calls while they were taking place;
• The impersonation of individuals to obtain medical information from private hospitals, clinics, and treatment centres by deception;
• Paying police officials, with corrupt links to private investigators, for sensitive information;
• Accessing bank accounts and financial transactions.
‘Preposterous smears’
ANL has described the allegations as “preposterous smears”, and claimed legal action taken is “a fishing expedition by [the] claimants and their lawyers”.
Adrian Beltrami KC, for ANL, said the legal action against it had “no real prospects of succeeding” and was “barred” under a legal period of limitation.
Read more:
Harry v ANL: Everything you need to know about the court case
Harry says Royal Family ‘without doubt’ withheld information from him on phone hacking
Sadie Frost arriving at the Royal Courts Of Justice earlier in 2023
He added the claimants could have used “reasonable diligence” to find out if they had a potential claim before October 2016.
Many of the claimants had brought legal action against other newspaper groups and hired lawyers involved in the Leveson Inquiry into press standards and phone hacking litigation, which took place in 2011 and 2012, as well as a “research team”, the barrister said.
“It is inconceivable that what is claimed to be the key new information leading to each claimant realising they had a claim arrived unbidden in the past couple of years,” Mr Beltrami said. “It must have been the product of a process, probably over a number of years.”
However, lawyers for the claimants said they were “thrown off the scent”, having believed “categorical denials” from ANL over any involvement in unlawful activity.
David Sherborne, representing Harry and others, described ANL’s bid to end the claims as “ambitious as it is unattractive”.
UK
Masked burglars ‘raid’ Windsor Castle grounds ‘while William, Kate and children slept at home on estate’
Masked burglars have stolen farm vehicles from the Windsor Castle estate while members of the Royal Family are believed to have been asleep nearby.
Two men scaled a 6ft fence on the night of 13 October and used a stolen truck to break through a security gate, The Sun first reported.
The pair then fled with a pick-up and a quad bike that were stored in a barn.
The King and Queen were not in residence.
But the Prince and Princess of Wales, along with their three children George, 11, Charlotte, nine, and six-year-old Louis were believed to have been in their home, Adelaide Cottage, on the estate, according to The Sun.
The family moved there in 2022.
In a statement, Thames Valley Police said: “At around 11.45pm on Sunday 13 October, we received a report of burglary at a property on Crown Estate land near to the A308 in Windsor.
“Offenders entered a farm building and made off with a black Isuzu pick-up and a red quad bike. They then made off towards the Old Windsor/Datchet area.
“No arrests have been made at this stage and an investigation is ongoing.”
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
On Christmas Day 2021, a man climbed a fence at Windsor Castle armed with a crossbow and claimed he wanted to kill Queen Elizabeth II.
Jaswant Singh Chail was handed a nine-year custodial sentence for treason, possession of an offensive weapon and making threats to kill.
The UK is braced for “disruptive snow” as yellow weather warnings cover large parts of the country until Tuesday – with the Met Office saying there is the “potential” for the alerts to be “escalated”.
The forecaster has warned up to 20cm of snow may accumulate in the worst affected areas as the country experiences its “first taste of winter”.
The Met Office has also told people to expect ice, cold temperatures and wintry showers this week.
Check the forecast in your area
A yellow warning for snow and ice is in place for much of the north of the country – covering areas in the East Midlands, Yorkshire, Wales and the north of England – from 7pm on Monday night to 10am on Tuesday morning.
Those in the impacted areas have been told power cuts are possible and mobile phone coverage might be affected.
The Met Office has said there is a “slight chance” some rural communities could be cut off and that bus and train services may be delayed or cancelled.
People are also warned to be careful not to slip or fall on icy surfaces.
The Met Office has said there will be bright spells across northern and eastern areas throughout today, but rain in the south and west will gradually spread northeastwards and turn to snow over northern hills.
Parts of the UK are experiencing their ‘first taste of winter’, says the Met Office. File pic: PA
Tom Morgan, Met Office meteorologist, said: “We could see some disruptive snow in the Pennine regions, in particular, the Peak District as well, especially Monday night, but we could well see some impacts lasting on until Tuesday morning’s rush hour.
“Even down to lower levels, we could well see some snow as well, so quite a bit of disruption possible by Tuesday morning, and then the week ahead is likely to stay cold nationwide, a windy day on Tuesday, and then winter showers through the week ahead.”
Mr Morgan said that despite a “mild” start to the month, the cold conditions are more typical of “mid-winter to late-winter”.
“What we can say is that it’s going to be very cold for the time of year, there will be widespread overnight frosts, and a few locations where there’s snow on the ground,” he continued.
The yellow weather warnings in place across the UK
Meanwhile, a yellow snow and ice weather warning that came into force at 4pm on Sunday will end at 11am this morning.
The warning covers the northern tip of Scotland and people there have been told there may be icy patches on some untreated roads, pavements and cycle paths.
The Met Office has said there is “potential” for both yellow warnings to be “escalated”.
In southern England, a typical maximum temperature for this time of year is 11C (52F), but daytime highs for the week ahead are forecast to be around 5C (41F), while some parts of Scotland will reach “only just above freezing”, Mr Morgan said.
The meteorologist said the public can best prepare for the wintry weather by checking their cars are suitable for icy and potentially snowy conditions and to take extra supplies including food, blankets and a fully charged mobile phone with them on journeys.
He added there were “likely” to be changes to the weather warnings in the coming days, and that “winter flurries” could be seen in the south of England later in the week.
Read more from Sky News:
Starmer to push for ‘pragmatic’ relationship with China
Manhunt under way for husband after woman’s body found in car boot
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
Despite the cold conditions, the “whole of the UK” will enjoy more sunshine this week, the meteorologist added.
He said: “There’ll be some snow showers in the peripheries of the UK, particularly northern Scotland, and down the east and the west coast, but if you live inland and you live in the south, there’ll be lots of sparkly blue skies on the most days through Tuesday to Friday.”
It comes as a cold weather alert issued by the UK Health Security Agency, which was introduced at 9am on Sunday, will be in place until 9am on Thursday.
It covers a large area of England, north of Northhampton. The alert is triggered when there is a risk that healthcare services might face extra pressure and is designed to prepare those who are “particularly vulnerable” and “likely to struggle to cope”.
UK
Man pleads guilty to being owner of dangerously out of control XL bully which killed his neighbour near Sunderland
-
Sports2 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports8 months agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports1 year agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Environment1 year agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Sports3 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business2 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway