Prince Harry sues British tabloid for defamation

Lawyers for Prince Harry asked a judge on Friday to rule that a tabloid newspaper slandered the British royal with an article about his seeking police protection when he and his family visit the United Kingdom.

Harry sued publisher Associated Newspapers Ltd. of the Mail on Sunday newspaper over an article alleging it tried to silence another legal dispute over the British government’s refusal to allow it to pay for police security.

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During a hearing in London’s High Court, Harry’s lead lawyer asked Judge Matthew Nickin to throw out the publisher’s defense or enter summary judgment, which would be a ruling in favor of the prince without going to trial.

Attorney Justin Rushbrooke said the facts did not support the defense’s contention that the article expressed an “honest opinion.”

He noted that the article was “fundamentally inaccurate.”

Harry he was not in court for the hearing. The prince, also known as the Duke of Sussex, and his wife Meghan lost their publicly funded police protection in Britain when they resigned from royal duties and moved to North America in 2020.

The lawyers of Harry They have said the prince refuses to take the couple’s children, Prince Archie, who is almost 4, and Princess Lilibet, who is almost 2, to their country because it is not safe.

The 38-year-old prince wants to personally pay for police security when he goes to Britain, but the government has said that is not possible. Last year, a judge authorized Harry to sue the government. That case has yet to come to trial.

Harry sued Associated Newspapers over a February 2022 Mail on Sunday article titled “Exclusive: How Prince Harry tried to keep his legal battle against the government secret from police bodyguards…then, just minutes after the story broke, his public relations machine tried to put a positive spin on the dispute.”

Harry he claims the newspaper slandered him when it suggested the prince lied in his initial public statements about the lawsuit against the government.

In July, Nicklin ruled that the article was libelous, allowing the case to proceed. The judge has yet to consider issues such as whether the story was accurate or in the public interest.

The publisher’s lawyer, Andrew Caldecott, said the argument by the publisher’s lawyers Harry it amounts to “straitjacketing the newspaper’s right to comment”.

He added that it was vital that the media tell the truth to power, and that “voicing an opinion to power is just as important, if not more so,” as long as the opinion is based on fact.

Harry, the youngest son of King Charles III, and former actress Meghan Markle married at Windsor Castle in 2018 but stepped down from royal duties in 2020, citing what they described as unbearable intrusions and racist attitudes from royals. british media.

Harry’s fury with the UK press is captured in his memoir “Spare”, published in January. He blames an overly aggressive press for the death of his mother, Princess Diana, in 1997, and accuses the media of similarly harassing Meghan.

The couple have not hesitated to resort to the British courts to respond to what they consider mistreatment by the media. In December 2021, Meghan won an invasion of privacy case against Associated Newspapers for the publication in the Mail on Sunday of a letter she wrote to her father, whom she is estranged from.

Harry he is also among the celebrities who sued Associated Newspapers for wiretapping, and has launched a separate spying lawsuit against the publisher of another tabloid, The Mirror.

Source: Elcomercio

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I am Jack Morton and I work in 24 News Recorder. I mostly cover world news and I have also authored 24 news recorder. I find this work highly interesting and it allows me to keep up with current events happening around the world.