Prince Harry is turning his High Court case against The Sun’s publisher into a ‘public inquiry’, court hears

Prince Harry was accused yesterday of turning his High Court case against the publisher of The Sun into a ‘public inquiry’ as he faces four days in the witness box.

The Duke of Sussex will return to Britain in the new year to testify in the eight-week trial.

He faces a major legal bill even if he wins, after suggesting he has rejected offers to settle the case out of court.

Actor Hugh Grant, who was a co-plaintiff in the case, settled for ‘a huge amount’ earlier this year, saying he would otherwise have to pay £10 million in legal costs.

At the time, Harry’s lawyer said the Duke faced the same “impossible” pressure and could also be “forced” to settle.

But last week, Harry vowed in a public interview to “see this through,” even if the amount he wins in court is “a hundred times” less than his settlement offer.

The publisher, News Group Newspapers (NGN), denies all allegations. His QC, Anthony Hudson, accused the Duke of doing something ‘that is not legitimate’.

Harry and his sole remaining co-plaintiff Tom Watson, the former Labor deputy leader, allege that journalists from The Sun and the defunct News of the World unlawfully obtained their private information.

Harry and his sole remaining co-plaintiff Tom Watson, (pictured) the former Labor deputy leader, allege that journalists from The Sun and the defunct News of the World unlawfully obtained their private information

Mr Hudson said at a pre-trial hearing yesterday: ‘This is not about dealing with these individual claims, especially the Duke’s. It’s about something completely different. It is almost by definition a public inquiry. That’s what he’s trying to achieve. We say that’s not legitimate.’

He presented the judge with a transcript of the interview Prince Harry gave in New York last week, in which he said his goal was to achieve “accountability” rather than settle his case. Harry told an audience: “One of the main reasons for going through with this is accountability, because I’m the last person who can actually achieve that.”

Mr Hudson told Judge Fancourt: ‘It shows what is really going on here. We say the answer is to focus on the issues in the Duke’s claim.

It is critical that that happens so that my client can receive some semblance of a fair trial.”

David Sherborne, for Harry and Lord Watson, will respond to these specific points in his remarks on Tuesday, but he claimed on Monday that NGN engaged in unlawful activity and that its position was ‘a transparent attempt to avoid evidence of systemic unlawful activity’ . .

As for the timetable for the trial, the judge was told that Harry would have to be questioned in the witness box by the newspaper group’s lawyer for between two and four days.

Harry vowed in a public interview to ‘push through’ this even if the amount he wins in court is ‘a hundred times’ less than his settlement offer – he is pictured here arriving at the Royal Courts of Justice on March 30.

It will be the duke’s second court appearance after giving evidence in 2023 before the same judge who charged the Mirror Group Newspapers with phone hacking.

After winning that case, Harry declared himself a ‘dragon slayer’ and vowed to continue his crusade against the press.

In the new trial, the Duke will be questioned about his claims that NGN newspapers used unlawful techniques to obtain information about him.

He claims his privacy was breached in at least 30 articles written about him, including the day he found out he had been accepted to Eton in 1998.

Around 39 other claimants, including Hugh Grant, who had joined Harry in the current tranche of the managed class action, have settled out of court, with only the Duke and Lord Watson continuing to pursue the case.

In the early stages of his case, Judge Fancourt last year dismissed Harry’s phone hacking claims, saying the duke had waited too long before starting his trial. Harry had protested that a ‘secret agreement’ from Buckingham Palace had stopped him from bringing his case earlier, but the judge ruled such a deal was ‘implausible’ and rejected Harry’s attempt to use it as a reason for his late claim.

Lord Watson (pictured) and Harry are the only two still pursuing the case against the publisher of The Sun

Then, two months ago, his claims about ‘eavesdropping’ and ‘tracking’ of devices planted by The Sun were also dismissed. Mr Fancourt said Harry had not provided ‘any details’ to support these claims against the newspaper.

The Duke is proceeding with the trial on the basis of other forms of unlawful information gathering, which he alleges. He will be the key witness in his case, while another person – unidentified – will also give evidence in support of his specific case, the court heard.

The newspaper has lined up some 65 witnesses – including the News of the World’s infamous ‘fake sheikh’ Mazher Mahmood, the court was told.

Harry rarely visits the UK since quitting his royal duties to move to America in 2020. He was last here in September for the Well Child charity awards. He claims his safety is at risk when he visits Britain because the Home Office has stripped him of his automatic police protection. He is still suing the Ministry of the Interior over this complaint. After losing his High Court bid to get his police bodyguards back, he will ask the Court of Appeal to overturn the ruling in April.

In his interview last week, Harry said: ‘I should never have had the security removed in the first place. It’s amazing when you go through this trial, which I’ve become a professional at.”

The court has not yet set a date for Harry’s days on the witness stand.