LONDON (AP) — An attorney for the publisher of The Sun tabloid Thursday accused Prince Harry of engaging in “shocking” and “extraordinary” obfuscation by destroying evidence it was seeking in his lawsuit claiming that the newspaper violated his privacy by unlawfully snooping on him.
Attorney Anthony Hudson said at High Court that the Duke of Sussex had deliberately destroyed text messages with the ghostwriter who penned his bestselling memoir, “Spare.”
A lawyer for Harry said News Group Newspapers was engaging in a “classic fishing expedition” by seeking documents they should have sought much sooner for a trial scheduled in January.
“NGN’s tactical and sluggish approach to disclosure wholly undermines the deliberately sensational assertion that the claimant (Harry) has not properly carried out the disclosure exercise,” his attorney, David Sherborne, said in court papers. “This is untrue. In fact, the claimant has already made clear that he has conducted extensive searches, going above and beyond his obligations.”
Hudson said Harry had created an “obstacle course” to getting documents it was seeking from his former lawyer and staff when Harry was a working member of the royal family.
“If the claimant wanted his documents from his former solicitors' or from the royal household ... he would have got them,” Hudson said.
The hearing is the latest in Harry's battles against Britain’s biggest tabloids over alleged phone hacking and hiring private investigators to use unlawful measures to dig up dirt on him.
Harry is one of dozens of claimants, which had included actor Hugh Grant, alleging that between 1994 and 2016, News Group journalists violated their privacy through widespread unlawful activity that included intercepting voicemails, tapping phones, bugging cars and using deception to access confidential information.
The litigation grew out of a phone hacking scandal that erupted at NGN's News of the World in 2011.
The judge in the case recently ruled that Harry couldn't expand his lawsuit to add allegations that Rupert Murdoch, who was executive of the company that included NGN, was part of an effort to conceal and destroy evidence of unlawful activity.
NGN issued an unreserved apology in 2011 to victims of voicemail interception by the News of the World, which closed its doors after the scandal. NGN said it has settled 1,300 claims for its newspapers, though The Sun has never accepted liability.
FILE - Britain's Prince Harry meets the crowd as he leaves after attending an Invictus Games Foundation 10th Anniversary Service of Thanksgiving at St Paul's Cathedral in London, on May 8, 2024. An attorney for the publisher of The Sun tabloid Thursday accused Prince Harry of engaging in “shocking” and “extraordinary” obfuscation by destroying evidence it was seeking in his lawsuit claiming the newspaper violated his privacy by unlawfully snooping on him. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, File)
NEW YORK (AP) — Video released late Saturday shows an officer in upstate New York fatally shooting a 13-year-old boy who had been tackled to the ground after he ran from police and pointed a replica handgun at them.
The teenager was killed late Friday in Utica after officers in the city about 240 miles (400 kilometers) northwest of Manhattan stopped two youths a little after 10 p.m. One of them ran and pointed what appeared to be a handgun at the pursuing officers, authorities said.
The police department released the body camera video following a public outcry. The state attorney general will lead the investigation into the shooting and determine if it was justified.
The youth has been identified in local media reports as Nyah Mway, a 13-year-old Karen refugee born in Myanmar and an 8th grader at Donovan Middle School, and Lt. Michael Curley, a police spokesperson, confirmed the name later Saturday.
Utica, a city of more than 65,000 residents located along the Mohawk River, is home to more than 4,200 people from Myanmar, according to The Center, a nonprofit that helps to resettle the refugees.
Karens are an ethnic minority that are among the groups warring with the military rulers of the Southeast Asian country formerly known as Burma. The army ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in 2021 and suppressed widespread nonviolent protests that sought a return to democratic rule.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.
NEW YORK (AP) — An officer in upstate New York fatally shot a 13-year-old boy who had been tackled to the ground after he ran from police while carrying a replica handgun, authorities said Saturday.
The shooting occurred around 10:15 p.m. Friday after officers stopped two youths for an unspecified “police investigation,” Utica Police Chief Mark Williams said.
One of them, identified by police as Nyah Mway, allegedly ran from the officers and “displayed” a handgun that was later determined to be a replica of a Glock 17 Gen 5 handgun with a detachable magazine. “During a ground struggle” with the teen, one of the officers fired a single shot that struck the boy in the chest, Williams said.
The teen was given “immediate” first aid by the officers and taken to Wynn Hospital, where he died, the chief said.
The replica gun carried by the teen “is in all aspects a realistic appearing firearm with GLOCK markings, signatures, detachable magazine, and serial numbers,” Lt. Michael Curley, a police spokesperson, said via email. “However ultimately it fires only pellets or BB’s.”
A bystander video posted to Facebook shows one of the officers chasing after Nyah Mway and tackling him to the ground. It also shows the officer punching the teen as two other officers arrive. A gunshot rings out as the teen is on the ground and the officers quickly stand up.
Williams cautioned that the bystander video does not portray the event in its entirety.
The officers involved in the shooting, whose names were not immediately released, were placed on administrative leave with pay.
The shooting has roiled Utica, a city some 240 miles (400 kilometers) northwest of Manhattan that is home to more than 4,200 people from Myanmar, according to The Center, a nonprofit that helps to resettle the refugees.
Nyah Mway, who local media reports said was an 8th grader at Donovan Middle School, has been identified as a refugee born in Myanmar and a member of the Karen ethnic minority.
Karens are an ethnic minority that are among the groups warring with the military rulers of the Southeast Asian country formerly known as Burma. The army ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in 2021 and suppressed widespread nonviolent protests that sought a return to democratic rule.
During a tense news conference Saturday, Williams would not say what prompted police to stop the two youths or what the investigation concerned. The news conference ended early as Williams, the city's mayor and an interpreter struggled to speak over repeated audience outbursts. Members of the community, including the youth’s family, were in attendance.
Williams pledged to release unedited video of the officers’ body-worn cameras but had not done so as of Saturday evening.
The police department is conducting its own internal investigation to see whether officers followed policies and training. The state attorney general, which did not respond to a request for comment Saturday, will open its own case to determine if the shooting was justified.
“I want to offer my heartfelt condolences to the family of the deceased party during this difficult time,” Williams said. "This is a tragic and traumatic incident for all involved.”
Follow Philip Marcelo at twitter.com/philmarcelo.
Utica Mayor Michael Galime, center right, grey jacket, talks with the family members of a 13-year-old boy who was fatally shot by a police officer Friday night after a news conference, Saturday, June 28, 2024 in Utica, N.Y. An officer shot and killed the teenager who was fleeing while wielding a “realistic appearing firearm," authorities said Saturday. (Kenny Lacy Jr./Syracuse.com via AP)
Police investigate the scene of Friday nights shooting in Utica, N.Y., early Saturday, June 29, 2024. An officer shot and killed a teen fleeing while pointing a replica gun, police said Saturday. (Kenny Lacy Jr./Syracuse.com via AP)
