NGN offers the Duke of Sussex a "full and unequivocal apology"

Is the Duke the definitive winner or does The Sun/NGN also win somewhat by not having their actions scrutinised through a trial, or in any other ways?

"NGN must view this as a better outcome than having their unlawful activities examined in a public trial, however that doesn’t detract from the fact that Prince Harry is the clear winner here."

Could the lack of High Court trial impact any potential police investigation?

"Not necessarily. Clearly the parties have both disclosed documents and prepared evidence that could be requested by any police investigation."

Prince Harry has said the legal action was not about money but as a settlement has been reached, he is in line to receive a substantial payout - how much could this be?

"It is impossible to speculate, but Prince Harry was awarded £140,000 in his claim against Mirror Group Newspapers and it has been reported that News Group Newspapers have previously paid out six figure sums to settle claims by other litigants."

How much did Prince Harry and Lord Watson face paying in court costs even if they won at trial?

"It is impossible to say, but these legal proceedings have been carrying on for years so one can easily imagine that both sides will have incurred legal fees in the millions of pounds."

Although NGN has admitted unlawful news-gathering at The Sun, it stops short of admitting phone hacking by journalists at The Sun and cover-up, which has been alleged. Do you think this somewhat dents the victory and falls short of what Prince Harry had hoped for?

"It would not be a settlement if there weren’t some measure of compromise by both parties. However, the partial admissions they have made already contradict the position historically taken by The Sun in response to allegations of unlawful information gathering. Prince Harry and Lord Tom Watson have made their feelings clear in their statement and have called for an investigation into the cover ups, which we hope Parliament will listen to."

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An extract of Hugo's comments was published in The i Paper, 22 January 2025, and can be found here.