Former presenter and former The Sun showbiz columnist gleefully took to his X page as and the former deputy Labour leader Tom Watson agreed a settlement with the publisher of The Sun.
Dan posted on his social media account, “Breaking right now: Has become the p***y prince? Has he just bottled it?”
“Has he become so terrified of the fact that I said I’m going to give evidence against you in court, mate, and maybe reveal a few home truths that he isn’t going to go ahead with this ludicrous, self-obsessed, completely unnecessary, a waste of money battle in court versus News Group, the former publishers of The Sun?”
The opening day of ‘s damages battle against the owners of The Sun newspaper was previously delayed after it emerged that the two sides were involved in potential settlement talks after years of legal warfare.
Dan Wootton gleefully teased about Prince Harry looking to reach a settlement. (Image: TWITTER)
Yesterday, the Duke’s legal team was scheduled to commence an extensive eight-week trial regarding his allegations against journalists from News Group Newspapers.
However, in a turn of events, NGN admitted it had intruded into the private life of Harry’s late mother, Princess Diana and a source familiar with the settlement said the damages involved an eight-figure sum.
“In a monumental victory today, News UK have admitted that The Sun, the flagship title for Rupert Murdoch’s UK media empire, has indeed engaged in illegal practices,” Harry and his co-claimant Tom Watson said in a statement.
“Today the lies are laid bare. Today, the cover-ups are exposed. And today proves that no one stands above the law. The time for accountability has arrived,” said the statement, read by their lawyer David Sherborne outside the High Court.
The Pussy Prince!Prince Harry looks likely to capitulate in his pathetic battle with News UK and The Sun by agreeing to settle after a last minute deal. He clearly wasn’t looking forward to facing me in court!This dude is the biggest mess.
— Dan Wootton (@danwootton)
Following last-minute talks, the two sides settled, with NGN saying there had been wrongdoing at The Sun, something it had denied for years.
NGN has paid out hundreds of millions of pounds to victims of phone-hacking and other unlawful information gathering by the News of the World, and settled more than 1,300 lawsuits involving celebrities, politicians, well-known sports figures and ordinary people who were connected to them or major events.
In their joint statement, Harry and Watson said NGN had now paid out more than £1billion.
NGN had previously always rejected any claims that there was wrongdoing at The Sun newspaper, or that any senior figures knew about it or tried to cover it up, as Harry’s lawsuit alleges.
Harry said his mission was to get the truth and accountability after other claimants settled cases to avoid the risk of a multi-million-pound legal bill that could be imposed even if they won in court but rejected NGN’s offer.
“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,” Sherborne said.
“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.”