The Metropolitan Police have sought transcripts from the pre-trial hearings in Prince Harry’s case against Rupert Murdoch’s newspaper group, the Guardian has learned, prompting renewed calls for an additional criminal inquiry.
This development could bolster the hopes of those advocating against press intrusions for a fresh investigation into claims of “perjury and cover-ups” related to News Group Newspapers (NGN), which owns the Sun.
The dispute between Harry and NGN was resolved on Wednesday, a mere 14 minutes before the trial was slated to commence. Murdoch’s newspaper group offered significant damages along with an apology to Harry and Tom Watson, the former deputy leader of the Labour Party who was a co-claimant.
This marks the first acknowledgment by NGN of “incidents of unlawful activities conducted by private investigators for the Sun,” extending recognition of illegal actions beyond the now-defunct News of the World.
NGN continues to assert that phone hacking did not occur at the Sun, which is the company’s primary publication, nor that its journalists engaged in any criminal activities. Rebekah Brooks, who served as editor from 2003 to 2009, is currently the CEO of NGN.
Outside the courthouse on Wednesday, David Sherborne, representing the claimants, argued that the revelations made by NGN during the five-year litigation could warrant a new police inquiry into “perjury and cover-ups.”
Lord Watson has expressed his intention to send a comprehensive dossier of evidence to the Met’s commissioner, Sir Mark Rowley, with lawyers for Watson currently compiling this file for submission in the coming weeks.
Individuals close to Harry and Watson indicated that the evidence of wrongdoing by NGN executives is “almost indisputable,” a claim the company vehemently contests.
At the same time, the Guardian has learned that the Metropolitan Police has been observing the civil lawsuit and has officially requested transcripts of key pre-trial hearings where evidence was presented. NGN has opted not to comment on this matter.
A spokesperson for the Met stated: “We are aware of the outcome of the civil proceedings. Currently, there are no active police investigations concerning allegations of phone hacking or related issues. We await any communication from the parties involved, which we will address in due course.”
Last year, former Prime Minister Gordon Brown added his support to calls for a renewed police inquiry regarding allegations that Will Lewis, now the CEO of the Washington Post, oversaw the intentional deletion of emails at Murdoch’s UK newspaper operation 14 years ago.
Evidence presented in the high court included minutes from a 2011 meeting between police and Lewis, who was the general manager of the newspaper group at the time. Detectives had been probing Brown’s complaint about the mass deletion of emails from executives at Murdoch’s firm while investigations into the company’s potential illegal activities were still ongoing.
Lewis defended the deletion of certain emails by alleging that Brown was orchestrating a scheme with Watson, then a Labour MP, to retrieve emails belonging to Brooks via a third party.
As part of the settlement reached on Wednesday, NGN acknowledged, “this information was false, and Lord Watson did not receive any such confidential information. NGN offers its full and unequivocal apology for this.”
On Friday, actor Hugh Grant reiterated his demand for police action, suggesting that NGN is likely fearful that such findings could initiate a new criminal investigation.
The Met commissioner, in remarks to LBC radio, stated that the police would “consider” the situation but highlighted that thorough investigations had already taken place. Rowley remarked, “Much of the material in the civil litigation arose from those investigations and was sought through legal means by the litigants. So, let’s see what they produce.”
Chris Huhne, a former cabinet minister who settled a lawsuit regarding phone hacking with NGN in 2023, mentioned that he had also reached out to the Metropolitan Police, requesting a further investigation. He questioned: “Did they lie under oath at Leveson when they claimed no criminal activity occurred [at the Sun]? Were they unaware, inept, or was it a deliberate falsehood?”
A representative for NGN stressed, “It must be noted that allegations regarding the destruction of evidence in 2010-11 made publicly before and after the trial would have been rigorously contested at trial. These claims have been and continue to be categorically denied. Comprehensive evidence would have been presented during the trial to counter these accusations from senior staff in technology and legal departments.”
