Prince Harry’s lawyer has told the High Court that Associated Newspapers' alleged unlawful information gathering had a profoundly negative impact on the Duke of Sussex’s personal relationships.
The royal attended the High Court trial in London this morning as his legal battle against Associated Newspapers, publisher of the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday, commenced.
The Duke of Sussex, dressed in a navy blue suit with a coordinating tie, is pursuing claims centred on 14 articles produced by two journalists over a twelve-year period spanning 2001 to 2013.
His barrister, David Sherborne, outlined in written submissions that the Duke's case concerns "misuse of private information in relation to each of the 14 unlawful articles," which appeared predominantly in the Mail on Sunday's Diary column alongside pieces in the Daily Mail.
Prince Harry’s lawyer has told the High Court that Associated Newspapers' alleged unlawful information gathering had a profoundly negative impact on the Duke of Sussex’s personal relationships.
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The duke's legal team contends that the alleged unlawful gathering of information has caused substantial harm to Harry's closest relationships.
In his written submissions on behalf of Harry and others, barrister Sherborne said: “The fact that information concerning him, when misused, is inherently likely to have, and in fact has had, a profoundly negative impact on his personal relationships, especially with those of his associates involved in the relevant story, and private life, given his status and the interest of the public, as opposed to in the public interest, which is clearly distinguishable, in stories of almost any quality concerning him.
Sherborne argued that the intrusions created "safety concerns" for the duke whilst also producing "grievous disturbances" in his connections with those nearest to him.
The barrister's submissions described Harry's testimony as "often poignant," particularly regarding the damage inflicted upon his personal bonds with associates featured in the stories.
In further written submissions, Harry can be seen to say: “I find it deeply troubling that Associated used phrases such as ‘sources’, ‘friends” and the like as a device to hide unlawful information gathering.
The duke's legal team contends that the alleged unlawful gathering of information has caused substantial harm to Harry's closest relationships.
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Beyond affecting his relationships, Sherborne maintained that the alleged conduct disturbed the duke's "own peace of mind," given the intense public fascination with virtually any story concerning him.
The legal team clarified that the duke "does not aver that it follows that every exclusive item must be the fruit of unlawful information gathering."
The submissions emphasised that the private details featured in these pieces were not sourced from previously published material.
Sherborne asserted that none of the 14 articles served any legitimate public interest, let alone one that could justify the methods allegedly employed to obtain the information.
The barrister stated there was "no meritorious public interest in the information so obtained, still less in obtaining it by unlawful information gathering as the journalists and Associated did."
The duke's legal submissions further argued that Harry held a reasonable expectation that personal details gathered about him would remain confidential.
The duke's legal submissions further argued that Harry held a reasonable expectation that personal details gathered about him would remain confidential.
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Associated Newspapers “strongly denies” that there was any unlawful information gathering, including voicemail interception, directed at Prince Harry or his associates.
Antony White KC said in written submissions that the articles in the case “were sourced entirely legitimately from information variously provided by contacts of the journalists responsible, including individuals in the Duke of Sussex’s social circle, press officers and publicists, freelance journalists, photographers and prior reports”.
He added: “At all material times, the Duke of Sussex’s social circle was and was known to be a good source of leaks or disclosure of information to the media about what he got up to in his private life.”
Mr White later said that Harry also discussed his private life in the media, and information about his life was also provided by Palace spokespeople.
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