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Prince Harry's lawsuit against The Sun is part of a long saga of alleged tabloid misbehavior

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Prince Harry's lawsuit against The Sun is part of a long saga of alleged tabloid misbehavior
ENT

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Prince Harry's lawsuit against The Sun is part of a long saga of alleged tabloid misbehavior

2025-01-22 20:08 Last Updated At:20:20

LONDON (AP) — Prince Harry’s lawsuit against The Sun ended dramatically on Wednesday with an apology from the newspaper's publisher for “serious intrusion” and unlawful activities over a 15-year period.

The settlement, which includes a “substantial” damages payment to Harry. is the latest dramatic move in two decades of legal drama over the cutthroat practices of the British press in the days when newspapers sold millions of copies and shaped the popular conversation.

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FILE - Prince Harry leaves the High Court after giving evidence in London, Tuesday, June 6, 2023. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali, File)

FILE - Prince Harry leaves the High Court after giving evidence in London, Tuesday, June 6, 2023. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali, File)

FILE - Rebekah Brooks, former News International chief executive, talks to members of the media in central London, Thursday, June 26, 2014. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis, File)

FILE - Rebekah Brooks, former News International chief executive, talks to members of the media in central London, Thursday, June 26, 2014. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis, File)

FILE - Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, Duke and Duchess of Sussex leave after a service of thanksgiving for the reign of Queen Elizabeth II at St Paul's Cathedral in London, Friday, June 3, 2022. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham, Pool, File)

FILE - Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, Duke and Duchess of Sussex leave after a service of thanksgiving for the reign of Queen Elizabeth II at St Paul's Cathedral in London, Friday, June 3, 2022. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham, Pool, File)

FILE - Honoree Piers Morgan is interviewed at The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence 2013 Los Angeles Benefit Event at The Beverly Hills Hotel on Tuesday, May 7, 2013 in Beverly Hills, Calif. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP, File)

FILE - Honoree Piers Morgan is interviewed at The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence 2013 Los Angeles Benefit Event at The Beverly Hills Hotel on Tuesday, May 7, 2013 in Beverly Hills, Calif. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP, File)

FILE - Britain's Prince William accompanied by his fiancee Kate Middleton, as they arrive at Witton Country Park, Darwen, England, Monday April 11, 2011. (AP Photo/Tim Hales, File)

FILE - Britain's Prince William accompanied by his fiancee Kate Middleton, as they arrive at Witton Country Park, Darwen, England, Monday April 11, 2011. (AP Photo/Tim Hales, File)

FILE - Prince Harry leaves the High Court after giving evidence in London, Wednesday, June 7, 2023. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, File)

FILE - Prince Harry leaves the High Court after giving evidence in London, Wednesday, June 7, 2023. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, File)

FILE - News Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch delivers a keynote address at the National Summit on Education Reform in San Francisco, Oct. 14, 2011. (AP Photo/Noah Berger, File)

FILE - News Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch delivers a keynote address at the National Summit on Education Reform in San Francisco, Oct. 14, 2011. (AP Photo/Noah Berger, File)

FILE - Britain's Prince William, right, and Prince Harry after the marriage of their father Britain's Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales, and his wife Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, at the Guildhall in Windsor, England, after their civil wedding ceremony, on April 9, 2005. (AP Photo/Dave Caulkin, File)

FILE - Britain's Prince William, right, and Prince Harry after the marriage of their father Britain's Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales, and his wife Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, at the Guildhall in Windsor, England, after their civil wedding ceremony, on April 9, 2005. (AP Photo/Dave Caulkin, File)

FILE - Britain's Prince Harry arrives at the Royal Courts Of Justice in London, Tuesday, March 28, 2023. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant, File)

FILE - Britain's Prince Harry arrives at the Royal Courts Of Justice in London, Tuesday, March 28, 2023. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant, File)

The scandal destroyed a Rupert Murdoch -owned newspaper and cost the business tycoon hundreds of millions of dollars to settle lawsuits from the targets of tabloid attention. It also fueled Harry’s quest to tame the British press, which he blames for dividing his family, blighting his life and hounding both his late mother Princess Diana and his wife, Meghan Markle.

Here are key moments in the saga:

Murdoch’s Sunday tabloid the News of the World reports that Prince William has a knee injury. A Buckingham Palace complaint prompts a police inquiry that reveals information for the story came from a voicemail that was hacked.

Glenn Mulcaire, a private investigator working for the News of the World, is sentenced to six months in prison and the paper’s royal editor Clive Goodman to four months for hacking the phones of royal aides to listen to messages left by William and others. Goodman later acknowledges hacking William’s phone 35 times and that of his then-girlfriend Kate Middleton — now Princess of Wales — more than 150 times.

Murdoch’s company initially maintains that the illicit behavior was the work of two rogue employees working without the editors’ knowledge.

British police reopen an investigation into tabloid phone hacking after the News of the World says it has found “significant new information.”

The News of the World admits liability for phone hacking. The following month, it agrees to pay actress Sienna Miller 100,000 pounds to settle a hacking lawsuit. Since then, Murdoch’s News Corp. has paid to settle claims by scores of celebrities, politicians, athletes and others against both the News of the World and its sister tabloid, The Sun – though it has never accepted liability for hacking by The Sun.

The Guardian newspaper reports that News of the World journalists hacked the phone of Milly Dowler, a murdered 13-year-old schoolgirl, while police were searching for her in 2002. The revelation causes public outrage, and prompts Murdoch to shut down the 168-year-old News of the World.

A judge-led inquiry into media ethics ordered by then-Prime Minister David Cameron concludes that “outrageous” behavior by some in the press had “wreaked havoc with the lives of innocent people whose rights and liberties have been disdained.” Judge Brian Leveson recommends the creation of a strong press watchdog, backed by government regulation. His findings have only been partially implemented.

Former News of the World editors Andy Coulson and Rebekah Brooks go on trial alongside several other defendants at London’s Central Criminal Court on charges of phone hacking and illegal payments to officials. After an eight-month trial, Coulson is convicted and sentenced to 18 months in prison. Brooks is acquitted. She is now chief executive of Murdoch’s British newspaper business.

England’s chief prosecutor says there will be no more criminal cases against Murdoch’s U.K. company or its employees, or against 10 people under investigation from the rival Mirror Group Newspapers, including former Daily Mirror editor Piers Morgan. Both companies continue to pay to settle hacking lawsuits.

Prince Harry launches lawsuits against three newspaper groups – Murdoch's News Group, the Mirror Group and Associated Newspapers. He claims stories about his schooldays, teenage shenanigans and relationships with girlfriends were obtained by hacking, bugging, deception or other forms of illegal intrusion.

Harry’s wife Meghan wins an invasion of privacy lawsuit against Daily Mail publisher Associated Newspapers over publication of a letter she wrote in 2018 to her estranged father.

Harry testifies in his case against the Mirror Group, becoming the first British royal in more than a century to appear in the witness box.

Harry wins his case against the Mirror Group when a judge rules that Mirror newspapers had hired private investigators to snoop for personal information and engaged in illegal phone hacking for well over a decade. He is awarded legal costs and 140,000 pounds in damages.

The Mirror Group agrees to pay Harry legal costs and undisclosed damages to settle outstanding claims. Harry says he is vindicated and vows: “Our mission continues.”

The trial is due to open in lawsuits by Harry and former Labour Party lawmaker Tom Watson against The Sun, with Harry expected to testify in February. They are the only two remaining from among dozens of claimants after others accepted settlements rather than risk potentially ruinous legal bills. But the opening is delayed when lawyers for both sides say they have been holding intense negotiations on a settlement.

The two sides announce a settlement, with News Group Newspapers offering “a full and unequivocal apology to the Duke of Sussex for the serious intrusion by The Sun between 1996 and 2011 into his private life, including incidents of unlawful activities carried out by private investigators working for The Sun.”

Harry's lawyer David Sherborne calls it a “monumental victory” and declares: "The time for accountability has arrived."

Harry’s case against Associated Newspapers, which publishes the Daily Mail, is ongoing.

FILE - Prince Harry leaves the High Court after giving evidence in London, Tuesday, June 6, 2023. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali, File)

FILE - Prince Harry leaves the High Court after giving evidence in London, Tuesday, June 6, 2023. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali, File)

FILE - Rebekah Brooks, former News International chief executive, talks to members of the media in central London, Thursday, June 26, 2014. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis, File)

FILE - Rebekah Brooks, former News International chief executive, talks to members of the media in central London, Thursday, June 26, 2014. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis, File)

FILE - Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, Duke and Duchess of Sussex leave after a service of thanksgiving for the reign of Queen Elizabeth II at St Paul's Cathedral in London, Friday, June 3, 2022. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham, Pool, File)

FILE - Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, Duke and Duchess of Sussex leave after a service of thanksgiving for the reign of Queen Elizabeth II at St Paul's Cathedral in London, Friday, June 3, 2022. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham, Pool, File)

FILE - Honoree Piers Morgan is interviewed at The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence 2013 Los Angeles Benefit Event at The Beverly Hills Hotel on Tuesday, May 7, 2013 in Beverly Hills, Calif. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP, File)

FILE - Honoree Piers Morgan is interviewed at The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence 2013 Los Angeles Benefit Event at The Beverly Hills Hotel on Tuesday, May 7, 2013 in Beverly Hills, Calif. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP, File)

FILE - Britain's Prince William accompanied by his fiancee Kate Middleton, as they arrive at Witton Country Park, Darwen, England, Monday April 11, 2011. (AP Photo/Tim Hales, File)

FILE - Britain's Prince William accompanied by his fiancee Kate Middleton, as they arrive at Witton Country Park, Darwen, England, Monday April 11, 2011. (AP Photo/Tim Hales, File)

FILE - Prince Harry leaves the High Court after giving evidence in London, Wednesday, June 7, 2023. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, File)

FILE - Prince Harry leaves the High Court after giving evidence in London, Wednesday, June 7, 2023. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, File)

FILE - News Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch delivers a keynote address at the National Summit on Education Reform in San Francisco, Oct. 14, 2011. (AP Photo/Noah Berger, File)

FILE - News Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch delivers a keynote address at the National Summit on Education Reform in San Francisco, Oct. 14, 2011. (AP Photo/Noah Berger, File)

FILE - Britain's Prince William, right, and Prince Harry after the marriage of their father Britain's Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales, and his wife Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, at the Guildhall in Windsor, England, after their civil wedding ceremony, on April 9, 2005. (AP Photo/Dave Caulkin, File)

FILE - Britain's Prince William, right, and Prince Harry after the marriage of their father Britain's Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales, and his wife Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, at the Guildhall in Windsor, England, after their civil wedding ceremony, on April 9, 2005. (AP Photo/Dave Caulkin, File)

FILE - Britain's Prince Harry arrives at the Royal Courts Of Justice in London, Tuesday, March 28, 2023. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant, File)

FILE - Britain's Prince Harry arrives at the Royal Courts Of Justice in London, Tuesday, March 28, 2023. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant, File)

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb 10, 2025--

Faraday Future Intelligent Electric Inc. (Nasdaq: FFIE) (“FF”, “Faraday Future”, or the “Company”), a California-based global shared intelligent electric mobility ecosystem company, today announced that FF China will ship two FX 6 prototype mules to its Los Angeles headquarters later this month from FF China. The shipment of the two test mules, both of which will be branded as “FX 6 Series” models, signifies a further step in the FX brand’s plan to bring affordable mass market AIEV’s to the marketplace. The shipment of the prototype mules also marks the official launch of the development and testing phase for this model in the U.S. and will allow continuous road testing on various systems.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250209770713/en/

Upon arrival in the U.S., the FX team will conduct compliance validation and in-depth testing on key aspects such as ADAS and autonomous driving, propulsion system, intelligent cabin, and overall user experience. The FX 6 models would eventually be assembled at FF’s facility in Hanford, CA, where the Company’s FF 91 2.0 is currently produced.

FX is advancing a new chapter in the Company’s strategy and will target the mass market segment with three planned models: an AI-MPV product—named the Super One, the FX 5, with a price target between $20,000-$30,000, and the FX 6, with a price target between $30,000-$50,000. FF plans to unveil further updates on the FX 6 series and the latest on the Company’s overall FX strategy in March.

“The shipment of the FX 6 camouflaged prototype mules signifies that our product development is moving forward into a more detailed and rigorous validation phase,” said Xiao (Max) Ma, Global CEO of FX. “The FX leadership team recently traveled to China, where we continued in our extensive discussions with potential partners and supply chain collaborators, achieving positive results that could solidify the FX 6 development process.”

ABOUT FARADAY FUTURE

Faraday Future is the pioneer of the Ultimate AI TechLuxury ultra spire market in the intelligent EV era, and the disruptor of the traditional ultra-luxury car civilization epitomized by Ferrari and Maybach. FF is not just an EV Company, but also a software-driven intelligent internet Company. Ultimately FF aims to become a User Company by offering a shared intelligent mobility ecosystem. FF remains dedicated to advancing electric vehicle technology to meet the evolving needs and preferences of users worldwide, driven by a pursuit of intelligent and AI-driven mobility.

FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS

This press release includes “forward looking statements” within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. When used in this press release, the words “estimates,” “projected,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “forecasts,” “plans,” “intends,” “believes,” “seeks,” “may,” “will,” “should,” “future,” “propose” and variations of these words or similar expressions (or the negative versions of such words or expressions) are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements, which include statements regarding a the production of the Super One, the FX 5 and the FX 6, are not guarantees of future performance, conditions or results, and involve a number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other important factors, many of which are outside the Company’s control, that could cause actual results or outcomes to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements. Important factors, among others, that may affect actual results or outcomes include, among others: the Company’s ability to secure the necessary funding to execute on the FX strategy, which will be substantial; the Company's ability to secure necessary agreements to produce FX vehicles in the U.S., the Middle East, or elsewhere, none of which have been secured; the Company's ability to homologate any FX vehicle for sale in the U.S., the Middle East, or elsewhere; the Company's ability to secure necessary permits at its Hanford, CA production facility; the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern and improve its liquidity and financial position; the Company’s ability to pay its outstanding obligations; the Company's ability to remediate its material weaknesses in internal control over financial reporting and the risks related to the restatement of previously issued consolidated financial statements; the Company’s limited operating history and the significant barriers to growth it faces; the Company’s history of losses and expectation of continued losses; the success of the Company’s payroll expense reduction plan; the Company’s ability to execute on its plans to develop and market its vehicles and the timing of these development programs; the Company’s estimates of the size of the markets for its vehicles and cost to bring those vehicles to market; the rate and degree of market acceptance of the Company’s vehicles; the Company’s ability to cover future warranty claims; the success of other competing manufacturers; the performance and security of the Company’s vehicles; current and potential litigation involving the Company; the Company’s ability to receive funds from, satisfy the conditions precedent of and close on the various financings described elsewhere by the Company; the result of future financing efforts, the failure of any of which could result in the Company seeking protection under the Bankruptcy Code; the Company’s indebtedness; the Company’s ability to cover future warranty claims; the Company’s ability to use its “at-the-market” program; insurance coverage; general economic and market conditions impacting demand for the Company’s products; potential negative impacts of a reverse stock split; potential cost, headcount and salary reduction actions may not be sufficient or may not achieve their expected results; circumstances outside of the Company's control, such as natural disasters, climate change, health epidemics and pandemics, terrorist attacks, and civil unrest; risks related to the Company's operations in China; the success of the Company's remedial measures taken in response to the Special Committee findings; the Company ’s dependence on its suppliers and contract manufacturer; the Company's ability to develop and protect its technologies; the Company's ability to protect against cybersecurity risks; and the ability of the Company to attract and retain employees, any adverse developments in existing legal proceedings or the initiation of new legal proceedings, and volatility of the Company’s stock price. You should carefully consider the foregoing factors, and the other risks and uncertainties described in the “Risk Factors” section of the Company’s Form 10-K filed with the SEC on May 28, 2024, as amended on May 30, 2024, and June 24, 2024, as updated by the “Risk Factors” section of the Company’s first quarter 2024 Form 10-Q filed with the SEC on July 30, 2024, and other documents filed by the Company from time to time with the SEC.

The camouflaged FX 6 (Photo: Business Wire)

The camouflaged FX 6 (Photo: Business Wire)

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