Britain’s Prince Harry has arrived at the High Court in London to attend a hearing in his lawsuit against Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL) over allegations of illegal intelligence gathering.
Last year, the Duke of Sussex joined a group of high-profile figures, including singer Elton John, in taking legal action against the editor of the Daily Mail, Mail on Sunday and Mail Online.
The lawsuit accuses the ANL of engaging in various means of criminal activities to obtain information about important figures over the years.
Elizabeth Hurley, Sadie Frost, David Furnish and Doreen Lawrence make up the rest of the plaintiffs behind the legal action.
They allege that they were “victims of disgusting criminal activities and serious violations of privacy”, according to a statement from their representatives at the time.
The group accused the ANL of hiring private investigators to carry out illegal acts, such as bugging homes and cars and recording private phone calls.
He also alleges that the publisher paid corrupt police officers to obtain insider information, engaged in impersonation and fraud to obtain medical records, and hacked into bank accounts and financial transactions by “illicit means and manipulation.”
This Monday (27) marks the start of a four-day preliminary hearing at the Royal Courts of Justice in London, during which the ANL must try to dismiss the case.
The publisher dismissed the allegations as “absurd libel” and labeled the lawsuit a “pre-planned and orchestrated attempt to drag Mail titles into the phone hacking scandal”, according to PA Media.
An ANL spokesman added that the allegations were “baseless and highly defamatory claims based on no credible evidence”, British news agency PA Media reported.
The case against the ANL is one of several lawsuits brought by Prince Harry in recent years.
He is also suing the ANL after the Mail on Sunday newspaper ran a story about his separate legal proceedings against the UK Home Office over his family’s security arrangements when visiting the UK.
Meanwhile, he also sued the owners of British tabloids Sun and Daily Mirror in 2019 for alleged historical phone hacking. The case against the Daily Mirror editor is due to go to trial in May.
The 38-year-old royal’s surprise appearance in London on Monday is believed to be his first trip back to the UK since he and his wife, Meghan, attended the late Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral in September.
Over the next few months, the Sussexes released a Netflix documentary series and The Duke’s Memoirs, which provided further insight into his fractured relationship with the rest of the royal family.
Harry is not expected to see his brother, the Prince of Wales, a royal source told CNN . As it is the school holidays, Prince William is not in Windsor, the source added.
Source: CNN Brasil
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