Prince Harry’s court case delayed as his barrister makes last-minute intervention

‘s court case was due to begin at London’s High Court this morning, but his lawyer has asked for a last-minute delay.

The Duke of Sussex and former Labour deputy leader Lord Tom Watson are suing News Group Newspapers (NGN), the publishers of the Sun, over allegations of unlawful information gathering, which the company denies.

The trial was due to start at 10:30am on Tuesday, but David Sherborne, the barrister representing the duke and Lord Watson, asked the judge to delay the start of the hearing.

He said: “I have been asked to ask your Lordship if we can have a short adjournment for an hour… I appreciate that might cause some inconvenience.”

Mr Justice Fancourt agreed to the adjournment, but said: “It does not cause inconvenience, it causes the loss of some time if this trial is going to proceed.”

It is not clear why Mr Sherborne requested the adjournment.

Several other high-profile figures have settled their cases against NGN, with 39 people settling claims between July and December last year.

The trial is expected to last 10 weeks, with Harry due to return to the UK to give evidence in person in February. He is expected to be in the witness box for several days.

The judge has previously described the court battle as resembling a campaign between “two obdurate but well-resourced armies” that is taking up “more than an appropriate” amount of court time.

NGN denies any unlawful activity took place at The Sun.

Speaking at The New York Times Dealbook Summit in December, the duke said he sought “truth and accountability” through legal action.

He said that 1,300 people had settled their claims, adding: “They’ve settled because they’ve had to settle. So therefore, one of the main reasons for seeing this through is accountability, because I’m the last person that can actually achieve that.”

He also said that he had become “professional” at litigation, but hoped “to retire fairly soon in that regard”.