Editorial 23.01.2025
‘The Sun apologies to Harry’ & ‘Boy stabbed to death’
Thursday’s headlines make for interesting reading. Only four national newspapers lead with the publisher of The Sun, News Group Newspapers (NGM), apology and payout to Prince Harry. It’s little surprise The Sun newspaper itself doesn’t acknowledge the news until page six.
Harry’s lawsuit against NGN is a huge victory with the Murdoch-owned tabloid admitting it engaged in illegal practices to source stories about him.
Of the four newspapers that lead with the story, The Guardian, The i and The Independent note the historical nature of the win, which saw NGN do something they rarely do – apologise. The Daily Telegraph unsurprisingly has a different take. The paper calls it a ‘climb down’ from Harry and lightly suggests he was seeking a bigger payout than what his brother received, questioning why he had all of a sudden struck a deal rather than complete his quest of holding the tabloids to account.
Away from Harry, there is a mixture of mostly domestic news including reports the Royal Navy spotted a Russian “spy ship” in UK waters, various reports of illegal immigrants, ISIS and “fears” over UK security. Several papers also report on the UK economy.
A 12-year-old boy is pictured on many front pages after he was stabbed to death on his way home from school. A 14-year-old boy has been arrested.
The back pages lead with last night’s Champions League matches – and how the English clubs fared. Man City threw away a 2-0 lead to lose 4-2 to PSG. Arsenal won their match, all but securing a place in the knockouts.
‘Murdoch-owned The Sun apologies to Harry’
‘Historic admission of illegal practises used to get stories about Harry,’ says The Guardian.
The Guardian calls the result a “monumental victory” with a “historic admission” noting the Sun newspaper admitted to engaging in “illegal practices” to source stories about him. They offered him a “full and unequivocal apology” after “incidents of unlawful activity” were carried out by private investigators working for the paper.
‘Nandy working to draw up changes to media rules in wake of lawsuit,’ says the i.
The i newspaper says “Gotcha” focusing on the reported £10 million settlement. The paper says Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy is working with families affected by the phone-hacking scandal to draw up potential changes to media rules in the wake of the lawsuit.
‘Harry wins £10m,’ says The Independent.
The Independent says “Harry wins historic £10m+ apology deal from Murdoch’s Sun”.
‘Harry climbed down despite saying he wanted accountability from the press,’ is the Telegraph’s take.
The Daily Telegraph says Harry ‘climbed down at the eleventh hour’ after claiming he wanted to change the British tabloids and bring accountability for their wrongdoing. The paper highlights that whilst the Sun did apologise and payout, it did not admit phone hacking or any specific wrongdoings. The article suggests Harry held out for as long as possible for money.
The Sun does not feature the story until page six – and takes a formal tone.
The Sun – the paper at the centre of the case – does not mention the story until page six. The paper takes a fairly formal tone in addressing its apology to the prince. It does note that Harry had previously indicated he would not settle the case as taking it to trial was about “accountability.”
The Daily Mirror does not feature the story on its front page. In 2023 Prince Harry won a case against Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN) over a phone hacking claim.
‘Boy stabbed to death in latest wave of knife crime’
‘UK in wave of knife crime,’ according to The Sun’s front page.
The Sun’s front page leads with the stabbing death of Leo Ross in Birmingham. The paper claims the UK is battling a “horrifying wave of knife crime.”
‘Leo latest victim of epidemic plaguing Britain,’ says the Mirror.
The Daily Mirror shares a similar take. The paper says Leo is “the latest tragic victim of the knife crime epidemic plaguing Britain”.
‘Russian spy ship spotted in UK waters’
‘Navy sent polite message to Russian spy ship,’ says The Times.
The Times says a suspected Russian spy ship was challenged by a Royal Navy submarine in British waters. A defence source tells the paper the Royal Navy sent a “polite” message to the vessel that included the words “good morning.” The Russian ship left quickly after the encounter, the source added.
‘Navy sub surfaced yards away from vessel in show of force to protect British waters,’ says the Mail.
The Daily Mail says the Royal Navy has been deployed to “protect undersea cables off Cornwall” in the wake of the Russian ship’s movements. It also reports that the Royal Navy sub surfaced “yards away” from the vessel “in a show of force to protect British waters.”
‘Healey tells Vlad – We can see you, we know what you’re doing,’ – the Metro highlights.
The Metro headlines it as “We can sea you, Vlad!”. Defence Secretary John Healey said the vessel was deployed to map the UK’s critical underwater infrastructure. Healey’s message to Vladimir Putin: “We see you, we know what you’re doing and we will not shy away from robust action to protect this country,” the paper added.