Police waiting for correspondence from parties in newspaper intrusion case
The Met previously investigated claims of phone hacking at the now defunct tabloid News of the World between 2011 and 2015.
The Metropolitan Police are waiting to hear from the parties involved in the High Court battle between the Duke of Sussex, former Labour leader Lord Tom Watson and the publisher of The Sun.
Lord Watson questioned whether the head of the force, Sir Mark Rowley, will take action when he receives a dossier of information linked to the case.
The Labour peer and Harry reached a settlement with News Group Newspapers (NGN) on Wednesday over claims they had been targeted by journalists and investigators instructed by them before 2011.
Speaking outside court on Wednesday, Lord Watson said: “To Sir Mark Rowley – when you receive our dossier exposing wrongdoing, will the Metropolitan Police act?
“To the Prime Minister – I know you care deeply about fairness in the law, but are we really willing to continue as a country where some executives are above the law and out of the reach of the police?”
The Met carried out an extensive probe into claims of phone hacking at the now defunct News of the World, which began in January 2011 and came to a close in December 2015.
Operation Weeting saw 12 former members of newspaper staff charged and taken to court.
Three were cleared – deputy editor Neil Wallis, retired managing editor Stuart Kuttner and ex-editor Rebekah Brooks – and one, former editor Andy Coulson, who went on to become David Cameron’s spin doctor, was found guilty by a jury. The remaining eight pleaded guilty.
The settlement reached on Wednesday was over “serious intrusion” by The Sun into Harry’s private life between 1996 and 2011 including unlawful activities carried out by private investigators employed by the newspaper, as well as phone hacking and surveillance by the News of the World.
NGN also apologised to Lord Watson for intrusion between 2009 and 2011, but denied having hacked his phone.
On Wednesday, after the settlement, the Met said there is no current investigation into phone hacking or related claims.
A force spokesman said: “We are aware of the outcome of the civil proceedings.
“It remains the case that there are no active police investigations into allegations of phone hacking or related matters.
“We await any correspondence from the parties involved, which we will respond to in due course.”
