Prince Harry Under Scrutiny for Allegedly Destroying Crucial Evidence in Privacy Lawsuit Against UK Tabloids
Prince Harry is accused of destroying crucial evidence from the privacy case!
The Duke of Sussex filed a lawsuit against the British Tabloid publishers for invasion of privacy. Now, he is being accused by the defense attorney for allegedly deleting his memoir drafts and text exchanges with the book’s ghostwriter, J.R. Moehringer, that were “relevant” to the case!
Prince Harry ordered to explain the missing texts and deleted drafts
On Thursday, June 27, Attorney Anthony Hudson— representing the publisher of The Sun, News Group Newspapers (NGN) —told the court that Harry deleted drafts of his 2023 memoir, Spare, and text exchange with J.R. Moehringer.
According to The Telegraph, Judge Fancourt said that he’s seen “troubling evidence” of relevant documents and confidential text exchanges being “destroyed” between 2021 and 2023, which was after the filing of the privacy lawsuit.
The judge added that the missing documentation was a cause of concern. The outlet mentioned that the judge asked Prince Harry— who was not present at the court— to present a witness statement explaining the lack of documentation.
Prince Harry’s attorney reacts to the accusation
Prince Harry’s attorney, David Sherborne, retaliated to the accusation and accused NGN of using a “transparent, old-fashioned fishing expedition,” as per court documents obtained by People.
Sherborne’s statement denied the allegation and mentioned that the Duke conducted “extensive searches” to find evidence related to the case “going above and beyond his obligations.” He further called NGN’s attempt to tarnish Harry’s name a “tactical and sluggish approach to disclosure.”
Prince Harry is among the many people suing NGN over invasions of privacy claims between 1994 and 2016. He was recently involved in four lawsuits against UK newspaper publishers over allegations of phone hacking and other unlawful activities.
Besides these lawsuits, the Duke had a personal legal battle for police security in the U.K. for his family, which he lost. The Prince has previously spoken about feeling “forced” to step down from active royals in 2020 because of security concerns for his wife Meghan Markle and their children, Archie, 5, and Princess Lilibet, 3.