Prince Harry given apology over ‘unlawful activities’ from The Sun publisher

News Group Newspapers have issued an ‘unequivocal apology’ to Prince Harry. Picture: Victoria Jones/PA

Britain's Prince Harry has received an “unequivocal apology” from News Group Newspapers after “serious intrusion” by The Sun, including unlawful activities by private investigators working for the paper, as Harry and the publisher settled their UK High Court case.

Harry, 40, alleged he was targeted by journalists and private investigators working for News Group Newspapers (NGN), the publisher of The Sun and the now-defunct News of the World.

Shortly before an up-to-ten-week trial was due to begin, Harry and NGN reached an agreement amid speculation of a potential settlement when the planned start of the case on Tuesday was repeatedly delayed.

The agreement was announced in court on Wednesday morning by the Harry’s barrister David Sherborne and included a “full and unequivocal apology” and “substantial” damages.

In a statement read to the court, the media company apologised for intrusion between 1996 and 2011, including “incidents of unlawful activities” by private investigators working for The Sun.

NGN also apologised to Harry for phone hacking, surveillance and misuse of private information by journalists and private investigators at the News of the World, which closed in 2011.

“We acknowledge and apologise for the distress caused to the duke, and the damage inflicted on relationships, friendships and family, and have agreed to pay him substantial damages,” the NGN statement continued.

The publisher also apologised for the impact of the “serious intrusion” into the private life of Harry’s late mother, Diana.

The apology marked the first time unlawful activities had been admitted at The Sun, one of the lawyers in the case said

, with Mr Sherborne stating it was a “historic admission”.

Lord Tom Watson (left) and the Duke of Sussex’s barrister, David Sherborne speak to the media (Lucy North/PA)

In a statement outside the court in London, Mr Sherborne also said: “In a monumental victory today, News UK has admitted that The Sun, the flagship title for Rupert Murdoch’s UK media empire, has indeed engaged in illegal practices.

“This represents a vindication for the hundreds of other claimants who were strong-armed into settling, without being able to get to the truth of what was done to them.

“After endless resistance, denials and legal battles by News Group Newspapers, including spending more than a billion pounds in payouts and in legal costs, as well as paying off those in the know to prevent the full picture from coming out, News UK is finally held to account for its illegal actions and its blatant disregard for the law.”

In a statement on Wednesday afternoon, an NGN spokesperson said its apology to Harry covers “incidents of unlawful activities carried out by private investigators working for The Sun, not by journalists, during the period 1996-2011”.

They continued: “There are strong controls and processes in place at all our titles today to ensure this cannot happen now. There was no voicemail interception on The Sun.”

The spokesperson said that publicly made allegations that News International had destroyed evidence from 2010 to 2011 “would have been the subject of significant challenge at trial” and “continue to be strongly denied”.

“After more than a decade of litigation, and 14 years since the News of the World closed down, today’s settlement draws a line under the past and brings an end to this litigation,” they added.