Judge steps down from Prince Harry's phone hacking case

Prince Harry’s long-running lawsuit against Mirror Group Newspapers has hit a new snag, the judge overseeing the final stage of the case has unexpectedly stepped down. 

Senior Costs Judge Jason Rowley announced he would recuse himself from a hearing on the legal costs MGN owes Harry, after ruling earlier this year awarded the Duke of Sussex £140,600 in damages.

Harry’s lawsuit alleged that MGN journalists engaged in illegal practices, including voicemail hacking, deception, and hiring private investigators. 

Though MGN largely denied wrongdoing, a judge ruled in December that phone hacking was “widespread and habitual” at its titles in the late 1990s.

At a London hearing today, Judge Rowley revealed his decision, saying it was “not taken lightly” but stemmed from concerns about a potential conflict of interest. 

Before his appointment as a judge in 2013, he worked for Temple Legal Protection on a policy that applies to about 40 percent of the costs in Harry’s case, a detail he said posed a risk to fairness.

The case, which also included claims from Coronation Street stars and other public figures, was seen as a landmark battle over illegal press practices. 

Harry reached a settlement with MGN in February, including an interim payment of £400,000 toward legal costs, but the final amount remains unsettled.

A new judge will now take over, delaying resolution yet again in the prince’s headline-grabbing legal fight.

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