Prince harming
The Times
, Issue 1661
On 13 October, chief news correspondent David Brown was dispatched to cover the first day of a Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal case against Christopher Hutchings, a reputation and privacy specialist with law firm Hamlins.
Flushed with excitement that Hamlins had previously represented Prince Harry in his case against sister paper the Sun, Brown and his editors rushed a report on to their website under a headline which began "Prince Harry's solicitor..." – but failed to clock that at preliminary hearings back in June, all parties to the SDT case (which centres on an alleged SLAPP action which has absolutely nothing to do with Prince Harry) had agreed to grant anonymity to several individuals whom the Times blithely went on to identify.
The report was swiftly hoicked from the paper's website – but the tribunal, having concluded to its regret that it did not have the power to hold the Times in contempt, responded instead by excluding every other journalist who had been following the case and holding the rest of the hearings in private, despite the prosecuting Solicitors Regulation Authority protesting that "the privacy regime approved... was adequate" and that shifting behind closed doors "halfway through the proceedings has the appearance of a hearing becoming inappropriately wholly secret".
Failing Vision
Then, on 16 October, the Times scored another victory with another report, also by Brown, about a complaint to the Charity Commission about World Vision UK, which it headlined "Charity represented by Meghan accused of racism and sexism".
The problem here was succinctly summed up by the paper's Corrections and Clarifications column two days later: "The Duchess of Sussex no longer represents World Vision as we wrongly said. She was a global ambassador for the charity through its Canada branch in 2016-17. She has never represented or been involved in any capacity with World Vision UK. We are happy to make this clear."
Next issue on sale: 13th November 2025
More top stories in the latest issue:
BOUNTY BAR
News UK has granted a concession to staff whose payday is being moved back next spring – but the concession comes at the expense of charitable causes.
COLE BUNKER
Since the Sun sent Harry Cole to Washington DC, his new online video series has failed to capture the public's attention.
EVANS CAN WAIT
The sale of the Telegraph has taken a fresh twist, with its staff now calling for the culture secretary to block the sale over potential links to Beijing.
PEARSON'S PROHIBITION
The news that the Met would no longer investigate non-crime hate incidents gave Telegraph editor Chris Evans a chance to snub columnist Allison Pearson.
LILY-PADDING
How did Lily Allen manage to get wall-to-wall coverage for her new album? It turns out that Fleet Street's finest are very easily persuaded…
NOT IN THE PINK
The Financial Times's circulation and revenue are up – yet hacks have been told they won't be getting their usual annual bonus of around £1,000.
MELTDOWN AT THE MIRROR
Amid job cuts and talk of strike action, the Mirror unsurprisingly struggled to find volunteers among staff to help out at its annual Pride of Britain Awards.
HOW JOURNALISM WORKS
When Katie Price named the man she claims raped her more than 20 years ago, it took a while for the media to notice – and then it went into SEO overdrive.
