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”.
The work and pensions secretary has not ruled out making further cuts to the welfare budget despite already unveiling reforms designed to save £5bn.
Liz Kendall said she had made the changes – which will see the eligibility criteria for disability benefits narrowed – because she wanted to “tackle a failing system that is failing the people who depend on benefits”.
In an interview with Sky News’ political editor Beth Rigby, the cabinet minister denied the reforms announced today were just a “drop in the ocean”.
She said she had announced a “substantial package” – and the changes would also be aimed at getting people into work to stop the overall bill ballooning to a projected £76bn by 2030.
Ms Kendall said they would deal with a “broken assessment process”, fix “terrible financial incentives” that force people on to welfare, and would focus benefits “on those in greatest need”.
“It’s providing the largest ever package of employment support,” she told Rigby.
Pressed again on whether she would rule out more savings over the course of this parliament, Ms Kendall replied: “I’m not saying that.
“I am suggesting we talk about the proposals we are actually making, and not those which we aren’t.”
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2:12
‘Can you work’ test scrapped by Labour
What changes are being made?
Earlier today, Ms Kendall announced a raft of reforms designed to cut the government’s expenditure on long-term sickness and disability benefits for working-age people, which has risen by £20bn since the pandemic.
High on the agenda were personal independence payments (PIP), which provide 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.
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3:06
Sky’s Political Editor Beth Rigby explains the impact Labour’s welfare reforms could have on the UK.
But Ms Kendall said 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.
Currently, the standard rate is given if people score between eight and 11 points overall, while the enhanced rate applies from 12 points.
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2:09
Why is the government cutting benefits?
Minister ‘cross’ about welfare system
Asked by Rigby whether she had wanted to go further by freezing PIP, Ms Kendall said she had “never started from a sort of macho, tough position”.
“I’ve never done politics like that,” she said. “This is about real people and real lives.”
Ms Kendall, who ran to be Labour leader in the 2015 leadership race won by Jeremy Corbyn, admitted she was “cross” about the state of the welfare system, which she described as “broken”.
“I’ve seen in my own constituency people written off to a life that is not the life they hoped for themselves, or their children or their families,” she said.
Addressing critics who have derided the changes as morally wrong, Ms Kendall said: “What I think is morally wrong is writing off people who could work.
“What’s morally wrong is looking at a benefit system where we are spending more and more on the costs of failure.
“And if that continues, the welfare state that we created won’t be there for the very people who need it.”
A teenager 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 the 19-year-old 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,” Mr Cray 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: Prosper wouldn’t engage with mental health support, the court heard
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.
‘Extended violent struggle’
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 member of a “professional group of travelling burglars” has been convicted after he broke into the home of Newcastle United striker Alexander Isak and stole jewellery worth £68,000.
Valentino Nikolov, 32, also took the Swedish footballer’s sports car and up to £10,000 in cash when he carried out the raid with three members of his family in April 2024.
Isak, who scored during Newcastle’s victory over Liverpool in the Carabao Cup final at the weekend, was not in the Northumberland home at the time.
Nikolov’s family members – brother Giacomo Nikolov, 28, sister Jela Jovanovic, 43, and her son Charlie Jovanovic, 23 – all admitted conspiracy to burglary.
However, Nikolov, from Birmingham, denied the charge and was found guilty on Tuesday following a trial at Newcastle Crown Court.
His three family members, who all lived in Italy and travelled to the UK to carry out the burglary, will be sentenced at a later date.
Isak noticed bins were moved
Dan Cordey, prosecuting, told jurors how Isak left his home between 4pm and 10pm on 4 April and discovered the break-in when he returned and saw his bins had been moved.
The gang smashed a glass door to enter the property before entering the TV room and carrying out an “untidy search”, Mr Cordey said.
Image: Giacomo Nikolov. Pic: Durham Constabulary
Isak told detectives that he kept cash in bags upstairs, made up of notes of varying denominations as well as coins, and the amount taken was between £5,000 and £10,000.
The 25-year-old striker added that bespoke men’s jewellery from Frost of London worth about £68,000 – made up of bracelets, necklaces and rings – was taken, along with his Audi RS6 estate car.
Image: Jela Jovanovic. Pic: Durham Constabulary
A member of the public later found the car abandoned and called the police, the jury heard.
The gang also took a safe which had been left by the home’s previous tenant and did not contain anything valuable, Mr Cordey said.
Isak told police he had never used the safe and he had not been able to open it.
Image: Charlie Jovanovic. Pic: Durham Constabulary
Images of raid on ‘doggy cam’
CCTV images of the break-in were recorded on what Mr Cordey described as a “doggy cam”.
The prosecution said: “This was a professional group of travelling burglars.
“It contained one female and three men – all related.
“Two of those men and one female have admitted their part in pleading guilty.”
Image: Isak with the trophy after Newcastle’s Carabao Cup victory over Liverpool on Sunday. Pic: PA
Gang used Citroen and Ford motorhome
The thieves had already stolen jewellery and clothes worth more than £1m and the CBE medal belonging to Tyneside businesswoman Helen McArdle, as well as designer goods worth £100,000 from a woman in Whitburn, Sunderland, in the days before breaking into Isak’s home.
The gang arrived in the UK via a ferry from Calais to Dover in a Citroen C3 and a Ford motorhome last March.
They headed to London then drove to the North East a few days later, the court has heard.
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The gang used the Citroen to travel to break-ins and the motorhome was a base where they slept.
Nikolov represented himself and used an Italian interpreter during his trial.
Safet Ramic, who is the 58-year-old father of Valentino Nikolov’s former partner, and who is from Winson Street, Birmingham, was cleared of a single charge of handling stolen goods.