UK Politics

The Government has said it will not launch a fresh inquiry into wrongdoing by the press – despite an admission from the publishers of The Sun that private investigators working for the newspaper “undertook illegal activity” between 1996 and 2011 while probing Prince Harry’s private life. At the thirteenth hour, the landmark trial of The Sun owner, News Group Newspapers, has been settled through an agreement with Labour peer Lord Tom Watson and the Duke of Sussex, Prince Harry.

The settlement avoids an explosive trial over allegations of phone-hacking, illegal activity, and a cover-up at The Sun and the now shuttered News of the World.

But, as part of the agreement, and after years of denials, The Sun has – for the first time – admitted that investigators working for it were engaged in unlawful activity.
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[W]hen asked by Byline Times about the new admission from News UK following the settlement, the Prime Minister’s official spokesman appeared to reject the Prince Harry and Lord Watson’s call for a new inquiry into press illegality.

“Obviously, there’s a settlement which I can’t comment on,” the spokesman said in a lobby briefing. “More broadly, newspapers play a vital role in a functioning democracy. Clearly, they must operate within the bounds of the law and certain codes. You’ve got the Government’s plans as set out in the manifesto [on] not going ahead with a new inquiry.”