LONDON, Nov 10, 2023 (BSS/AFP) - The publishers of two UK newspapers on
Friday lost a bid to have a case for unlawful information gathering brought
against them by Prince Harry and others thrown out of court, opening the way
for a possible trial.

Lawyers for Associated Newspapers (ANL) -- publishers of the Daily Mail and
Mail on Sunday -- had argued that the claims were brought too late.

But in a written ruling, judge Matthew Nicklin disagreed and said the case
could go ahead.

The ruling is the latest chapter in Harry's turbulent relationship with the
press, whom he holds responsible for the death of his mother Princess Diana
in a 1997 Paris car crash as she fled paparazzi.

Other claimants are pop star Elton John, his husband David Furnish, the
actors Liz Hurley and Sadie Frost, politician Simon Hughes, and Doreen
Lawrence, whose son Stephen was killed in a racist murder in 1993.

ANL had "not been able to deliver a 'knockout blow' to the claims of any of
these claimants", the judge said in his 95-page ruling.

"In my judgement, each claimant has a real prospect of demonstrating that
Associated... concealed from him/her the relevant facts upon which a
worthwhile claim of unlawful information gathering could have been advanced,"
he wrote.

Harry and the other claimants accuse ANL of methods such as hiring private
investigators, tapping phone calls and impersonating individuals to obtain
medical information for articles.

The court has been told the alleged wrongdoing dates back to 1993 and
continued to as late as 2018.

ANL has dismissed the allegations, arguing the case should not go to trial.

Harry, 39, and his wife Meghan, 42, quit royal duties in 2020 and relocated
to California, in part blaming media attention for the move.

The prince, who is formally known as the Duke of Sussex and is the younger
son of King Charles III, has vowed to make reforming the British media his
life's mission.

The case is one of a number legal battles he is waging with different UK
newspapers over privacy concerns.