Sun newspaper owner News Corp (NASDAQ:NWSA) has issued a grovelling apology to Prince Harry in a long-running legal action over the hacking of the Royal’s private phone.
In a statement, Rupert Murdoch-controlled and US-listed News Corp (NGN) said: “NGN offers a full and unequivocal apology to the Duke of Sussex for the serious intrusion by The Sun between 1996 and 2011 into his private life, including incidents of unlawful activities carried out by private investigators working for The Sun.
“NGN also offers a full and unequivocal apology to the Duke of Sussex for the phone hacking, surveillance and misuse of private information by journalists and private investigators instructed by them at the News of the World.
“NGN further apologises to the Duke for the impact on him of the extensive coverage and serious intrusion into his private life as well as the private life of Diana, Princess of Wales, his late mother, in particular during his younger years.
"We acknowledge and apologise for the distress caused to the Duke, and the damage inflicted on relationships, friendships and family, and have agreed to pay him substantial damages.”
However, while conceding that NGN’s response to the 2006 arrests and its subsequent actions were regrettable, it denies any admission of illegality.
Whether that remains the end of the matter is unclear, with Labour peer Lord Watson, who was also targeted by the Sun, preparing a dossier to pass to the Metropolitan Police for further investigation.
Commentators said by settling, NGN had avoided executives having to take the stand and potentially admit The Sun's actions were endorsed by the highest levels of management at the company, including Murdoch.
In a statement, Prince Harry’s lawyer David Sherborne said that News Group Newspapers (NGN) has “finally been held to account for its illegal actions and its blatant disregard for the law".
He added NGN deleted over 30 million emails and made false denials while "repeatedly” lying under oath to cover their tracks in court and at the Leveson inquiry.
Sherborne called on Parliament and the police to investigate NGN both for this and for "perjury and coverups".
Senior executives' failure to answer questions under oath spoke volumes, he said, but now "their silence is deafening".
News Corp shares were up 1.6% in pre-market trading in New York.