Hugh Grant Says Prince Harry’s Tabloid Settlement Doesn’t Get to ‘Real Truth’: ‘Not Done by Any Means’

Mar. 15, 2025

Hugh Grant and Prince Harry.Photo:Schneider-Press/John Farr/SIPA/Shutterstock; Dan Kitwood/Getty

Schneider-Press/John Farr/SIPA/Shutterstock; Dan Kitwood/Getty

Hugh Grantis calling for a criminal investigation into Rupert Murdoch’s News Group Newspapers followingPrince Harry’s settlement against the publisher.

Prince Harry originally sued NGN over accusations that investigators and journalists under the publisher engaged in illegal information gathering between 1996 and 2011, and thatThe Sunand the now-defunctNews of the Worldhad targeted him during that time.

The Duke of Sussex’s trial against NGN-ownedThe Sunwas set to begin when, on Jan. 22, the two parties reached a settlement which included aneight-figure sum in damagesto be paid to Prince Harry and a “full an unequivocal apology” from NGN. The settlement did not include apologies from named senior executives who were at the company during that period of time.

A civil suit was “not the right instrument” to obtain the “real truth of what happened,” Grant said.

Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, speaks onstage during The New York Times Dealbook Summit 2024 at Jazz at Lincoln Center on Dec. 4, 2024 in New York City.Eugene Gologursky/Getty

Eugene Gologursky/Getty

“That’s what they’ve done consistently over the last 10 years. They’ve spent £1 billion to make sure these things are never looked at in court … and you don’t get proper judicial findings," the actor told BBC Radio 4’s Today program. “I think what they’re terrified of is that those findings would trigger a new criminal inquiry.”

He continued, “A lot of the foot soldiers for those newspapers have now come over to our side […] to say this is awful. We’ve been punished, we’ve been to prison, we’ve paid fines, we’ve lost our jobs. But the people who commanded all this, they’re still there.”

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In addition to his calls for a criminal inquiry into NGN, the actor also suggested Britain’s Crown Protection Service should take action.

source: people.com