Prince Harry appeared to take aim at the High Court judge who dismissed his case against the Daily Mail.
In a striking 374-word statement issued only hours after Mr Justice Nicklin handed down a major ruling in favour of this newspaper, the Duke of Sussex referred to the judge’s earlier work representing newspaper groups.
The statement, released jointly with Baroness Lawrence, claimed the decision gave the impression that there was “one rule for newspapers and another for claimants”.
Harry contended that Mr Justice Nicklin’s conclusions, which dismissed all of his allegations, marked a sharp break from earlier litigation against other publishers the judge had previously acted for, including the Daily Mirror.
The statement said: “This judgment represents a complete reversal of the position which previous judges have taken in relation to the hacking claims successfully brought against both News Group Newspapers and Mirror Group Newspapers, who were represented by, at the time, the judge who made this decision.
“Generic findings about various private investigators that were held by the courts in these parallel claims to have carried out unlawful activity at the very same time in relation to similar stories and well-known individuals have been wholly ignored.
“The fact that this court has chosen to dismiss them represents an inconsistency which is hard to understand or reconcile with common sense, or the evidence heard in the courtroom itself.”
Harry also criticised the judgment as an “obvious whitewash”, arguing that it amounted to a “shocking” and “totally unwarranted” clearing of the Daily Mail and its journalists.
Prince Harry, pictured in April, said Mr Justice Nicklin’s judgement was an ‘obvious whitewash’ in his statement
He claimed: ‘It is a complete and obvious whitewash, but sadly not altogether unexpected.
‘However, the lengths to which the court has gone to exonerate the Mail is as shocking as it is totally unwarranted.
‘When the court says there is not sufficient evidence of wrongdoing, despite the documents showing otherwise, then one does wonder how justice was ever going to be achieved.’
Although, more than 40 journalists from the Daily Mail entered the witness stand to defend themselves, after being accused of illegal information gathering, Harry still insists he has been wronged.
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He added: ‘While the claimants presented evidence, Mail journalists simply gave denials and the court chose uncritically to believe them, even in the face of inconsistencies, contradictions and blatant untruths that were obvious to neutral observers in court when compared to the documents.
‘We presented to the court evidence which we believed was compelling at the time and remains so now.’
Over the course of 46 days, the newspaper robustly defended accusations of bugging and the blagging of private records to obtain news stories.
In his judgement, Justice Nicklin consistently ruled journalists at the Daily Mail were credible witnesses who gave forthright accounts during their evidence.
In his executive summary of his judgement, Mr Justice Nicklin said: ‘The Claimants failed to prove their pleaded allegations of UIG (unlawful information gathering).’
Adding: ‘In broad terms, Associated called journalist witnesses who gave lawful explanations for the sourcing of the disputed articles and incidents.
‘The Court accepted their evidence, including their denials of UIG.’
In his ruling, Justice Nicklin also dismissed allegations made against senior executives at the newspaper who had been wrongly accused of lying at the Leveson Inquiry into Press ethics in 2011.
Harry’s statement concluded by saying: ‘We would like to thank our legal team for all their hard work and all the witnesses who were brave enough to come forward in the pursuit of justice.’
Moments after the High Court ruled against him, Harry was at Chatham House to host the Invictus Games for wounded, injured, and sick military service personnel and veterans.
Attempting to appear relaxed before cameras, he cracked a joke at the event.
He told the guests they were one of the few in the UK with air conditioning, ‘so I can understand why every seat is full’.
Speaking to delegates, he said: ‘Every one of us believes that those who have served their country, and in particular those whose lives have been changed by that service, deserve more than our gratitude.
‘They deserve opportunity. The chance to redefine one’s purpose and identity. They deserve to truly feel our admiration and respect. And they deserve every chance to build the life they choose beyond military service. That’s what the Invictus community is all about.’
