Prince Harry's lawyers back in court against Daily Mail publisher

By Michael Holden and Sam Tobin

LONDON (Reuters) - Lawyers for Prince Harry were back in court in London on Tuesday, days after he lost a legal fight with the government over his security arrangements and gave an emotional interview in which he said his father King Charles no longer spoke to him.

Along with singer Elton John and five other high-profile British figures, Harry is suing Associated Newspapers (ANL), the publisher of the Daily Mail tabloid, alleging widespread unlawful behaviour.

They accuse ANL of serious privacy breaches dating back 30 years, ranging from tapping their phones and bugging their homes to obtaining medical records by deception. Among those they say were involved are current national newspaper editors and other senior press figures.

ANL, which publishes the Daily Mail, the Mail on Sunday and MailOnline, has denied involvement in unlawful practices and described the "lurid claims made by Prince Harry and others" as "simply preposterous".

David Sherborne, the lawyer representing the seven claimants, said a two-day hearing which started on Tuesday would focus on issues relating to the disclosure of further material before a full trial expected next year.

Sherborne said disclosure so far had shown "widespread use of unlawful information gathering across the titles by journalists and various desks, but the approach to disclosure has allowed only a partial picture of the wrongdoing".

ANL's lawyers said the claimants had not provided any disclosure to substantiate their allegations and argued in court filings that the claimants had given "no further particulars … of the allegations of hacking, tapping, blagging or perjury".

'DEVASTATED'

Harry, Charles' younger son, lost an appeal against the government on Friday over the decision to remove his right to automatic police protection while in Britain.

Harry, who lives in California with his American wife Meghan and their two children, said the decision left him "devastated".

He said in a BBC interview that while he wanted reconciliation with his family, his father would not speak to him because of the security issue.

Charles is undergoing treatment for an unspecified form of cancer. Harry, the Duke of Sussex, said he did not know "how much longer my father has".

Since moving to the United States, Harry and Meghan have criticised the royals in television documentaries, in an interview with chat show host Oprah Winfrey and in Harry's biography "Spare", accusing senior aides of colluding with tabloids to smear him.

In a statement after Friday's ruling, Harry said the royal establishment had "preyed" on his mother Prince Diana, openly campaigned to remove his security and "continue to incite hatred towards me, my wife and even our children".

Buckingham Palace has not commented on Harry's statement or interview other than to say all the issues surrounding the prince's police protection had been examined repeatedly and meticulously by the courts.

The king and other senior royals made public appearances on Monday at commemorations marking the 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day. Royal officials said they did not want anything to detract from that.

Harry stepped down from royal life in March 2020. Since then he has successfully sued Mirror Group Newspapers and settled a claim against Rupert Murdoch's UK newspaper group after it admitted unlawful behaviour including intruding into Diana's private life.

(Reporting by Michael Holden and Sam Tobin, Editing by Timothy Heritage)