can鈥檛 expand his privacy lawsuit against The Sun tabloid publisher to include allegations that and some other executives were part of an effort to conceal and destroy evidence of unlawful information gathering, a London judge ruled Tuesday.
The decision by Judge Timothy Fancourt鈥檚 in the High Court was a mixed ruling for the Duke of Sussex in one of his three major he has brought in his ongoing battles against British tabloids.
Fancourt rejected several of Harry鈥檚 proposed amendments, but he also allowed the prince to add allegations against other journalists and private investigators that he claims used unlawful means to snoop on him for scoops.
But Fancourt said allegations that Murdoch 鈥渢urned a blind eye鈥� to wrongdoing added nothing meaningful to claims made against News Group Newspapers, or NGN. The judge said those claims already include 鈥渢rusted lieutenants,鈥� such as Murdoch鈥檚 younger son, James Murdoch, and Rebekah Brooks, who was editor at News of the World and The Sun.
The judge said some of Harry鈥檚 efforts to blame other executives were to further a political agenda.
鈥淭here is a desire on the part of those running the litigation on the claimants鈥� side to shoot at 鈥榯rophy鈥� targets, whether those are political issues or high-profile individuals,鈥� Fancourt wrote. 鈥淭empting though it no doubt is for the claimants鈥� team to attempt to inculpate the man at the very top, doing so will add nothing to a finding that Ms. Brooks and Mr. James Murdoch or other senior executives knew and were involved, if that is proved to be the case,鈥� Fancourt wrote.
Brooks is chief executive officer of News UK, a division of News Corp. media holdings that controls The Sun and The Times among other publications. James Murdoch resigned from News Corp. in 2020.
Rupert Murdoch, 93, was executive chairman of News Corp. and director of its subsidiary, News International, now News UK, which was NGN鈥檚 parent when News of the World folded. Murdoch last fall as leader of both Fox News鈥� parent company and his News Corp.
Both sides claimed victory in the ruling that precedes a trial scheduled early next year, but Fancourt said that it was a split victory with the defense gaining an edge on the issues argued.
News Group said that it welcomed the decision.
The company issued an unreserved apology in 2011 to victims of voicemail interception by the News of the World, which closed its doors after a . NGN said it has settled 1,300 claims for its newspapers, though The Sun has never accepted liability.
The three-day hearing in March included claims against NGN by others, including actor , who accused The Sun of tapping his phone, bugging his car and breaking into his home to snoop on him.
Since then, Grant said he had reluctantly agreed to accept 鈥渁n enormous sum of money鈥� to settle his lawsuit.
Grant said he had to settle because of a court policy that could have stuck him with a huge legal bill even if he prevailed at trial. A civil court rule intended to avoid jamming up the courts would have required Grant to pay legal fees to both sides if he won at trial but was awarded anything lower than the settlement offer.
Attorney David Sherborne has suggested that Harry may have to settle for the same reason.
Harry has a similar case pending against the owner of the Daily Mail.
Last year, he when Fancourt found phone hacking was 鈥渨idespread and habitual鈥� at Mirror Group Newspapers. In addition to a court judgment, he settled remaining allegations that included his legal fees.
Brian Melley, The Associated Press
