A senior cabinet minister has insisted that there will be no new inquiry or restrictions into the activities of the media in the UK despite The Sun paying damages to Prince Harry.
Actor Hugh Grant, a leading member of the campaign group Hacked Off, had led demands for a second inquiry following the one chaired by the leading High Court judge Lord Leveson which reported in 2012.
It had been initiated because of industrial scale phone hacking by newspapers at Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp and Trinity Mirror.
A second inquiry, which was shelved by former prime minister David Cameron, was meant to look at the relationship between the police and the press.
Prince Harry has been paid substantial damages by The Sun (Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)
But speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme this morning, defence secretary John Healey stated that there would be no further action against the media.
While he said that “all laws are kept under review” action would only be considered “if there was new evidence”.
But asked about the second stage of the Leveson inquiry which has been shelved, he said: “We have made the decision we won’t proceed with the second stage of the Leveson inquiry. But we will take account of any new evidence that is put to us.”
It was pointed out that in May 2018 former Labour leader Ed Miliband, now in the current cabinet, said that there needed to be a second Leveson inquiry “no ifs, no buts, no maybes”.
Hugh Grant is among those calling for the second Leveson inquiry (PA Archive)
Asked what had changed, Mr Healey responded: “Seven years, two elections and we went into the last election last year with a commitment to do what we can but a decision we would not go ahead with the second stage of an inquiry.
“We need to strike a balance between the protection of individuals and the right of a free press.”
The Duke of Sussex, 40, alleged that journalists and private investigators working for News Group Newspapers (NGN) – which also published the now-defunct News of the World – had unlawfully targeted him.
On Wednesday, his barrister confirmed that the parties had “reached an agreement”, with NGN offering an “unequivocal apology” and agreeing to pay “substantial damages”, reportedly an “eight-figure” sum.
Delivering a scathing rebuke on the steps of the High Court, Harry’s barrister, David Sherborne, described the settlement as a “monumental victory”.
He declared: “The lies are laid bare, the cover-ups are exposed, and today proves that no one is above the law.”
Earlier, Mr Grant, who also took News Corp to court, told the Today Programme: “In light of these findings [in the Prince Harry case], we think that the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and the police should launch a new criminal investigation into this.
“That was the aim of Prince Harry’s case as I understand it and certainly was my original aim in my case.
“Also quite clearly there should be Leveson 2. This is something that was repeatedly promised by the Labour Party in opposition to victims of press abuse over and over again and now suddenly seems to have disappeared from their priority list now that they are in government.”