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Prince Harry claims Prince William reached settlement with Murdoch tabloids for “large sum” in hacking case
London — U.K. court documents emerged this week that include claims from Britain’s Prince Harry that his brother and heir to the throne Prince William quietly received “a very large sum of money” in a 2020 phone hacking settlement with the U.K. newspaper division of Rupert Murdoch’s media empire.
It was one of a series of explosive revelations made in witness statements from Harry’s lawyer in arguments about why the younger prince’s lawsuit against the publisher of The Sun and now-defunct News Of The World tabloids should not be thrown out. The court filings have raised questions about other possible secret deals between the royals and Britain’s tabloid press.
A key allegation to emerge from both Harry’s book “Spare” and he and his wife Meghan’s interviews over the last few years is that members of his own family or their staff have been “enabling, if not outright collaborating” with Britain’s tabloids, including in a “vicious campaign” to cast Meghan as a bully.
“There would definitely be, on Harry’s side, the sense that there was a cosy cartel between the popular papers and the royal family,” former editor of The Sun, Kelvin MacKenzie, told CBS News this week. “He wants to blow this up. He gets back at his own family. He bashes the tabloids over the head — gives Murdoch a kick in the pants — there is nothing not to like as far as Harry is concerned.”
Buckingham Palace has not commented on the court case, in which Harry alleges that, since the mid-2000s, he’s been the victim of phone hacking and other illegal behavior by tabloid journalists. The prince — who has lived in California with his family since they gave up their roles as senior “working” members of the royal family — claims reporters working for Murdoch’s newspapers illegally accessed his voicemails to obtain private information on him.
The tactics, Harry argues, have generated headlines which have destroyed some of his personal relationships.
Over the past decade, Murdoch-owned businesses have settled hundreds of similar phone-hacking claims for hundreds of millions of dollars in damages, out of court.
“Rupert Murdoch never goes into the witness box,” said MacKenzie. “He’ll do everything, everything to stop either him or his other executives in London from being cross-questioned. It’s a very, very big game that’s going on in London.”
Murdoch’s News Group Newspapers has argued that a senior British judge should throw out hacking lawsuits brought by Harry and Hollywood star Hugh Grant, claiming they were brought too late, but the prince insists he was really prevented from bringing his case because of a “secret agreement” between other members of his own family under which there would instead be an apology and out-of-court settlement.
Harry claims in the court documents that the alleged deal was authorized by his late grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, and that it would have prevented any future lawsuits against the newspaper group by the royals.
Murdoch’s News Group has denied any secret agreement with the royal family.
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Here is why Costco recalled almost 80,000 pounds of butter
Costco recalled nearly 80,000 pounds of store-brand butter last month because the product’s label was missing a key ingredient: milk.
The wholesaler recalled 79,200 pounds of two varieties of butter — 46,800 pounds of its Kirkland Signature Unsalted Sweet Cream Butter, and 32,400 pounds of Kirkland Signature Salted Sweet Cream Butter because it omitted the allergen.
The Food and Drug Administration Butter said both products list cream, “but may be missing the Contains Milk statement.”
The FDA classified the action as a “Class II” recall, which describes situations in which exposure to the product “may cause temporary or medically reversible adverse health consequences.”
The products were made by Continental Dairy Facilities Southwest. The affected butter products include:
- Lot 2424091 – Best By Feb 22, 2025
- Lot 2424111 – Best By Feb 23, 2025
- Lot 2426891 – Best By Mar 22, 2025
- Lot 2426991 – Best by Mar 23, 2025
- Lot 2424191 – Best By Feb 23, 2025
- Lot 2427591 – Best By Mar 29, 2025
Consumers who have purchased butter under recall are urged to dispose of it or return it to Costco for a refund.
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