Prince Harry will return to the UK for some of the trial (Image: Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images)
’s upcoming trial against the publisher of The Sun hit a hurdle yesterday before it has even begun.
The Duke of Sussex, 40, is set to appear in court later this month in a trial against News Group Newspapers (NGN) over alleged unlawful information-gathering and invasion of privacy.
Harry, alongside former Labour deputy leader Lord Tom Watson, have issued claims against the publisher, who denies any wrongdoing.
However, although the trial is not set to start until January 20, Harry’s lawyers were ordered by the judge yesterday at a preliminary hearing to reduce a number of witness statements that the judge has described as providing “commentary” rather than relevant evidence.
Mr Justice Fancourt ordered Harry’s lawyers yesterday to cut down 10 of the witness statements, including those from former prime minister Gordon Brown, ex-Commons Speaker John Bercow and singer Charlotte Church’s mother Maria.
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The judge said that some of what they had to say was “merely commentary or argument”, which goes against courtroom rules that state how witnesses can only give evidence of fact directly relevant to a case.
The Daily Mail reported that the judge also said that Harry’s lawyers should have kept these elements out but had “failed to do so”. The judge said Harry’s legal team had already agreed that some of what the witnesses said “will not be relied upon” and other parts were “plainly not evidence” that could be given at trial.
This includes evidence from Charlotte Church’s mother, which the judge said had almost nothing that was “relevant to the issues that the court has to determine”.
In his ruling yesterday, the judge awarded the newspaper half of its costs relating to the argument over witness statements, saying it had been partly successful but also “overly optimistic” in attempts to narrow down the evidence given in defence of .
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Prince Harry will be represented by David Sherborne (Image: Leon Neal/Getty Images)
Although the trial has not yet begun, it is expected to last for eight weeks, with set to fly to the UK to face up to four days in the witness box next month.
In the upcoming trial, the duke may give evidence over his claims that News Group Newspapers publications used unlawful techniques to find out information about him both as a teenager and an adult. Harry has accused the publisher of breaching his privacy in at least 30 articles written about him, including the day he found out he had been accepted to Eton in 1998.
The trial will also hear from Lord Watson, who is also pursuing the case against the newspaper. 39 other claimants, including Hugh Grant, who had joined Harry in accusations, have since settled out of court.
The trial will begin on January 20.