News Group Newspapers (NGN) has stated that its recent settlements with the Duke of Sussex and Lord Tom Watson over unlawful information gathering claims mark the end of legal action, putting a final point on the long-running dispute.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, the publisher reiterated its apology for a number of incidents linked to unlawful activities. However, it emphasised that many of the allegations made in the legal cases remain unproven. While acknowledging the well-documented case of phone hacking at the News of the World, NGN confirmed that phone hacking at The Sun was not part of the trial and stressed that the settlement included an apology specifically for unlawful activities carried out by private investigators working for The Sun between 1996 and 2011, and not by journalists.
“We apologise to the Duke of Sussex for incidents of unlawful activities carried out by private investigators working for The Sun, not by journalists, during the period 1996-2011,” said an NGN spokesperson. “There are strong controls and processes in place at all our titles today to ensure this cannot happen now. There was no voicemail interception at The Sun.”
NGN also provided a full and unequivocal apology to the Duke of Sussex for phone hacking, surveillance, and the misuse of private information by journalists and private investigators employed by News of the World. While phone hacking at the newspaper was not directly part of the trial, it was included in the settlement. The publisher’s statement highlighted that phone hacking at the News of the World had long been a matter of record, though the details of this were not intended to be aired in court during this specific case.
Further, NGN strongly denied the allegations that News International had destroyed evidence in 2010/11, stating these claims would have been challenged in court had the case gone to trial. The publisher pointed out that the matter had been fully investigated by the police and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) between 2012 and 2015, concluding that there was no case to answer.
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With regards to Lord Watson, NGN made it clear that his phone was not hacked between 2009 and 2011, citing evidence from telecoms experts who would have testified that hacking after 2007 was effectively impossible due to security upgrades implemented by telecom companies. This information was also presented to the Leveson Inquiry, although NGN made no admission on this point as part of the settlement.
The spokesperson concluded by stating, “After more than a decade of litigation, and 14 years since the closure of the News of the World, today’s settlement draws a line under the past and brings an end to this litigation.” They further emphasised that any future cases brought, years after the events, would be liable to be struck out, reinforcing the publisher’s stance that the legal matters had now been resolved.
This latest settlement is the culmination of a protracted legal battle between NGN and various claimants, which has spanned over a decade. With the closure of the News of the World in 2011 and the fallout from the phone hacking scandal that followed, the settlement serves as a final chapter in the litigation, allowing both parties to move on.
