Prince Harry’s legal action against the publisher of The Sun newspaper, over allegations of unlawful information gathering, is due to begin today.
The Duke of Sussex is one of two claimants, alongside former Labour deputy leader Tom Watson, who are continuing their claims against News Group Newspapers (NGN).
NGN has always denied unlawful activity at The Sun.
The claim is separate to the phone hacking case Harry brought against Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN), which was heard by the High Court in 2023.
The newspaper publisher agreed last year to pay “a substantial additional sum” in damages to the duke, as well as his legal costs – on top of the £140,600 already awarded to him by judges.
So how is this trial different, and what can we expect to happen in court?
Who is involved?
Prince Harry and Lord Watson are the only two claimants going forward with legal action against the publisher.
The court was told back in November that 39 cases have been settled since a hearing last July.
Image: Former Labour deputy leader Lord Tom Watson is also pursing a claim against the publisher. Pic: PA
This includes actor Hugh Grant, actress Sienna Miller, ex-footballer Paul Gascoigne, comic Catherine Tate and Spice Girl Melanie Chisholm.
Harry told a New York Times summit at the end of last year that one of the main reasons he was pursuing the case was because the others “had to settle”.
Other names you may hear in court are David Sherborne, the lawyer representing Harry, and Mr Justice Fancourt, the judge presiding over the case.
Who are News Group Newspapers?
NGN publishes The Sun newspaper and used to publish the now-defunct News Of The World, which closed in 2011.
It is a subsidiary company of News UK, which is owned by News Corp, the corporation owned by Rupert Murdoch.
Image: NGN still publishes The Sun newspaper. Pic: PA
News UK also owns papers including The Times and The Sunday Times, but they are published by a different subsidiary company.
In 2011, NGN issued an unreserved apology for widespread phone hacking carried out by journalists at the News of the World which Mr Murdoch shut down.
The publisher has since paid out hundreds of millions of pounds to victims of phone hacking and other unlawful information gathering by the News of the World, and settled claims brought by more than 1,300 people.
But it has always denied any unlawful activity at The Sun, and the upcoming trial will be the first to examine specific allegations against the paper, which was previously edited by Rebekah Brooks, who is now chief of News UK.
The court ruling will therefore decide if any of the NGN articles were the product of unlawful information gathering, such as information being tricked or “blagged” out of phone companies by private investigators.
The decision will stop short of ruling over phone hacking allegations, after Harry was denied permission by the court to bring those allegations to trial.
The duke had already lodged civil claims against NGN at the High Court, but in March last year, he sought to amend his case to add new allegations, including that The Sun ordered private investigators to target his then girlfriend – and now wife Meghan – in 2016.
The High Court refused this, ruling that the duke could not add new allegations relating to the years 1994, 1995 and 2016 to his case.
He was also denied permission to pursue allegations against Rupert Murdoch himself, and his argument that there had been a “secret deal” between the publisher and senior royals, was also rejected.
In November last year, the two sides returned to court in London to ask a judge to rule on preliminary issues before the trial began.
Lord Watson was also at the hearing.
Mr Justice Fancourt ruled Harry could use further emails between executives of the publisher of The Sun and members of the royal household that were sent between 2013 and 2019, in his legal claim.
What were the allegations against MGN?
Harry’s court case against the Daily Mirror publisher Mirror Group Newspapers began in May 2023.
He was part of a group litigation that also saw soap stars Nikki Sanderson, Michael Le Vell (Turner), and Fiona Wightman, the ex-wife of comedian Paul Whitehouse, as claimants.
Together, they accused MGN journalists or private investigators of phone hacking on an “industrial scale” and obtaining private details by deception, and said that senior editors and executives knew and approved of such behaviour.
Image: Pic: Reuters
Phone hacking involves intercepting private voicemail messages on another person’s device. This could be done remotely, and all it required was knowing someone’s mobile number.
In his ruling, Mr Justice Fancourt concluded that phone hacking and unlawful information-gathering techniques such as “blagging” took place at the Mirror Group from 1996 to 2011.
He said it was “widespread and habitual” from 1998, and that its journalists continued to hack phones “to some extent” during the Levison Inquiry into media standards in 2011 and 2012.
The judge concluded Harry’s phone had been hacked “to a modest extent” between 2003 and 2009, and 15 of 33 news articles he complained about were the product of unlawful techniques.
What will happen in court?
The case against The Sun will be heard in the Rolls Building of the High Court. It is due to last for eight to 10 weeks.
It will consider specific claims brought by both Harry and Lord Watson, as well as “generic” allegations of wrongdoing by NGN staff, including editors and other senior figures.
Harry could take to the stand himself, to be cross-examined for four days.
Former prime minister Gordon Brown is also expected to appear in court as a witness.
What has NGN said?
NGN has always denied unlawful activity at The Sun.
A spokesperson for the publisher said ahead of the start of the trial: “His [Harry’s] claim will be fully defended, including on the grounds that it is brought out of time.”
The spokesperson added that Lord Watson had never been a target of hacking, and the allegation that emails had been unlawfully destroyed was “wrong, unsustainable, and is strongly denied”.
A 19-year-old who murdered his family and wanted to be the worst mass killer the UK has seen had 33 cartridges on him to carry out an attack on his former school, a court has heard.
Nicholas Prosper shot his mother Juliana Falcon, 48, sister Giselle, 13, and shot and stabbed his brother Kyle, 16, at their family home in Luton on 13 September last year.
But he did not plan on stopping there, according to prosecutor Timothy Cray KC, who told Luton Crown Court he had prepared the murders “for months” and wanted to kill at least 30 schoolchildren.
“His planning was cold, deliberate and without sympathy or emotion towards the actual victims or potential victims,” he said, speaking at Prosper’s sentencing.
His “main wish”, however, was to “achieve lasting notoriety as a mass killer”, Mr Cray added, specifically to “imitate and even surpass other mass killers around the world”.
“He had conducted in-depth internet research on shootings in the United States of America, Norway, Australia and New Zealand,” he said.
“He understood his plans, if realised, would bring about the greatest number of deaths in a school or other mass shooting in the United Kingdom and possibly even in the United States of America.”
Image: Nicholas Prosper
The investigation suggests that the defendant “acted alone”, he added, and “his plans did not arise from any political or ideological cause”.
Prosper had undiagnosed autism spectrum disorder (ASD), the court heard, but he showed an “extreme lack of empathy with others and an extreme lack of remorse” that can’t be explained by ASD alone.
Up until Year 11, the court heard Prosper was a “geeky” and quiet boy with a small group of friends who were into computers, but problems began in sixth form and he wouldn’t engage with mental health support.
Gruesome murders
Prosper never reached St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School, which was three-quarters of a mile from his home, as police arrested him after he escaped to a wooded area.
After he left, officers broke into his family flat at about 5.50am, following a call from a neighbour.
There, the court heard, they found Prosper’s little sister underneath a dining table in the living room, “as if she had been trying to hide there”.
His mother and brother – who was stabbed more than 100 times – were both found in the hallway.
Image: Giselle Prosper (left), Juliana Prosper (centre) and Kyle Prosper. Pic: family pics issued via Bedfordshire police
He had planned to kill his family in their sleep, but when his mother realised something was wrong and challenged him, it led to “an extended violent struggle”.
After the horrific and noisy attack on his family members, Prosper knew police would be on their way and so had to leave three hours earlier than he had anticipated.
The teenager was then arrested by a passing police patrol as he walked along a residential road in Luton.
He had hidden the shotgun and cartridges nearby.
Prosper admitted their murders at a hearing last month, as well as purchasing a shotgun without a certificate, possession of a shotgun with intent to endanger life and possession of a kitchen knife in a public place.
Plans long in the making
These killings were planned for more than a year, the court heard, with Prosper managing to buy a shotgun with a fake firearms certificate.
He had put together a black and yellow uniform he wanted to wear for his killing spree, and he had filmed a video of himself holding a plank of wood as a mock gun.
Image: Nicholas Prosper has admitted killing his family
Prosper had included his own name, a picture and his real address on his fake firearms licence, the court heard.
He had also inserted the signature of a Bedfordshire Police firearms sergeant on 30 August last year.
On the same day, Prosper messaged a private seller who had advertised a shotgun for £450, offering to pay £600 if cartridges were included, Mr Cray said.
The seller agreed to drop the gun off to him on 12 September, the day before the killings, prompting Prosper to respond in a message: “I look forward to meeting you.”
Forensic examiners found Prosper had fired seven cartridges, the first being a test shot into a teddy bear in his bedroom.
Prosper’s step-by-step plan
A couple of months later, a prison officer found the notes in Prosper’s trainer sole after searching his cell on 13 November.
He had written the planned shooting would be “one of the biggest events ever,” Mr Cray said.
Image: Tributes were left outside the home. Pic: PA
“I was right in predicting no-one would’ve called the police had I killed them in their sleep. 3 shots under 30 seconds,” he had written.
“The only known phone call to police that day was made by the b**** at the door as a result of my B**** mother waking them up and it being turned into a long struggle.
“My plan wasn’t ‘stupid’. I was f****** right. MY MOTHER IS A STUPID F****** COW.”
The notes continued: “But why so early? So I’d have time to cannibalise my family, and rape a woman at knife point before the shooting.”
He had also written a step-by-step plan, detailing he would jump two gates and shoot down a glass door while children were together for “prayer/registration”.
He would then “shout that this is a robbery and for everyone to get down”, before shooting two teachers and killing children at Early Years Foundation Stage – the youngest.
That part of the note finished with: “Go to the next classroom. Kill a couple more. Suicide.”
‘Pain will never heal’
His father, who was also dad to Giselle and Kyle, said part of his soul died when he found out what his son had done.
In a statement read out by Mr Cray, Raymond Prosper said: “The pain of our loss will never be healed. This includes my whole family, our lives will never be the same.
“When I heard the horrific news on that day, part of my soul died too. This is a lose-lose situation for us all.”
A woman in her 20s has died after a van struck three pedestrians in central London.
The other two pedestrians were rushed to hospital following the incident on The Strand at around 11.40am on Tuesday.
One of the pedestrians has potentially life-threatening injuries, while the other has minor injuries.
The driver of the van, a 26-year-old man, was arrested at the scene on suspicion of causing death by careless driving and driving with a concentration of a specified controlled drug above a specified limit.
The eligibility criteria for disability benefits will be narrowed in a bid to slash £5bn from the welfare bill, Liz Kendall has announced.
Speaking in the Commons, the work and pensions secretary said the number of new people claiming personal independence payment (PIP) is “not sustainable”.
She said the government will not freeze PIP – as reports had previously suggested – but instead make it harder to qualify for the daily living allowance component from November 2026.
Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is money for people who have extra care needs or mobility needs as a result of a disability.
People who claim it are awarded points depending on their ability to do certain activities, like washing and preparing food, and this influences how much they will receive.
Ms Kendall said that from November 2026, people will need to score a minimum of four points in at least one activity to qualify for the daily living element of PIP.
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Currently, the standard rate is given if people score between eight and 11 points overall, while the enhanced rate applies from 12 points.
The changes will not affect the mobility component, Ms Kendall said.
It’s not clear how many people will be impacted as a result. The Office for Budget Responsibility will set out their final assessment of the costings at the spring statement next week.
Charities and unions reacted angrily to the announcement, with the Disability Benefits Consortium urging the government to reverse the “cruel cuts”, saying it will be harder for disabled people to manage.
What other measures have been announced?
Ms Kendall also announced a review of the PIP assessment, which she said will be done “in close consultation with disabled people, the organisations that represent them and other experts”.
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Young people brace for benefit reform
There will also be a consultation on delaying access to the health top up on universal credit until someone is aged 22, with the savings to be reinvested into work support and training opportunities.
And the Work Capability Assessment (WCA), which determines if a person is fit for work or not, will be scrapped in 2028 with financial support for people who are sick or disabled determined solely through the PIP assessment.
Ms Kendall said the WCA is based on a “binary can can’t work divide when we know the truth is that many people’s physical and mental health conditions fluctuate“.
“Reducing the number of assessments that people have to go through is a vital step towards de-risking work”, she added.
Other reforms announced today include:
Merging jobseeker’s allowance and employment and support allowance
Raising the standard universal credit allowance by £775 in 2029/30
Introducing a “right to try” initiative so people who want to attempt to get back into work won’t lose their benefits while they do
Ms Kendall said: “This is a significant reform package that is expected to save over £5 billion by 2029.”
Chancellor looking for savings
The announcement comes as Chancellor Rachel Reeves struggles to balance the books due to a poor economy and geopolitical events, with further spending cuts expected in her spring statement next week.
Image: Rachel Reeves
The cost of long-term sickness and disability benefits for working-age people has risen by £20bn since the pandemic and is forecast to hit £70bn over the next five years.
Ministers have said there is also a moral case for change, with one in eight young people not in education, training or employment – prompting fears of a “wasted generation”.
Ms Kendall said that while more people are now living with a disability, the increase in those seeking disability benefits is disproportionate.
Claims amongst young people are up 150%, while claims for mental health conditions are up 190% and claims for learning difficulties are up over 400%, she said.
Ms Kendall blamed the Tories for creating a system that is “holding our country back”.
She acknowledged that some people can never work, but said many sick and disabled people want to “with the right help and support” and they should “have the same chances and choices as everyone else”.
Reports ahead of the announcements had suggested there was unease around the cabinet table, with ministers including Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner and Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said to have voiced concerns in private.
But the prime minister’s official spokesman insisted this morning that the government is united in its agreement on the need for reform.
Call to reverse ‘cruel cuts’
Charles Gillies, of the Disability Benefit Consortium, said: “These immoral and devastating benefits cuts will push more disabled people into poverty, and worsen people’s health.”
He said changes to personal independence payments will make it harder for disabled people to manage “the overwhelming additional costs of their condition, from wheelchairs to visits from carers”, calling on the government to reverse the “cruel cuts”.