Thanks for the new thread and title
Kinsey Schofield and Jonathan Goldberg Casey, UK Criminal Defence Lawyer, on the Sentebale Court case.
Thanks for posting,
@cjguk , last thread 941.
Sentebale has filed a defamation case in the High Court. What happens next?
Goldberg: Defamation law is very complex in the UK vs. the US, where it's difficult because of the First Amendment. Therefore it's a tremendous industry in the UK unlike the US. Pleadings on both sides haven't been made public, so we don't know what the charity is claiming apart from that Harry and Dyer organised a campaign against SC and the charity.
There will be pleadings, then a hearing with the judge (no jury), and the judge has to determine on points of law if Harry's remarks etc. were defamatory and caused serious harm to SC's reputation and the charity. If these hoops are jumped the case will go to court.
Tom Bower said in
Betrayal that Harry's actions negatively affected the charity's ability to raise funds.
Kinsey: What about SC being bullied so had to close her accounts and see a doctor? Does the court need analytical proof that people stopped contributing to the charity because of Harry's behaviour?
Goldberg: Yes. SC is tough and clever, media-savvy and shares similarities with Meghan. SC said on record that she felt tension between herself and Harry a year before he resigned. Both sides accuse each other of a smear campaign.
Disclosure reveals everything and nothing can be hidden, it's time-consuming and thorough. May SC be revealed to have collaborated with Tom Bower in
Betrayal, where so many details about Harry are revealed? SC will be cross-examined on whether she leaked to TB, and Goldberg's advice to her would be to say Yes she did leak to the press because the Sussexes were doing the same. If SC lied and they proved it, it would be a terrible blow to her.
Kinsey and Goldberg: SC is smart, has an MBE and an impressive background, and has blown the whistle on Harry before by taking the unorthodox but clever step of reporting the charity to the Charity Commission. The CC are toothless tbh. She reported the charity for bullying, harassment, picking on her and for something Goldberg said was called
misogynoir, which is not just because she's a woman but because she's black.
The CC was embarrassed and didn't know what had hit them, issuing a mealy-mouthed report in 2025 saying neither Harry nor SC were lying and that the negative publicity brought by both sides was unfortunate for the charity.
Goldberg: So here's SC now using the courts and defamation law to make the same points against Harry, Dyer and the other trustees. There will be a huge amount of dirty linen washed in public if this goes to trial, and Harry must be terrified.
He could stop it by paying a big amount into court, and if SC continues and at the end the charity is awarded lesser damages she'd have to pay the difference to the defendants. SC is acting on behalf of the charity but is the controlling figure.
Goldberg: these are vanity projects, PR on both sides though less for SC than Harry. It's gone under the radar, but SC said that the costs are not being borne by the charity. King Charles (laughs), a newspaper group with deep pockets out for revenge?
Kinsey: we've heard little about what's going on behind the scenes. Is Harry trying to settle, or is the charity seeking brand rehabilitation and Harry's text messages and emails to prove that people would no longer work with him because these helped facilitate the online campaign to shut the charity down and intimidate SC into resigning? SC says this is what Harry was trying to do, but he resigned and SC didn’t.
Goldberg: We'll see the pleadings and what the allegations on both sides are, then a court hearing. Has serious harm been proved? Was the charity raising 20m and now only 10m because of Harry? Receipts? Goldberg said if SC didn't get a settlement and insisted on running with this, she'll milk it for all it's worth, and Kinsey agreed. Harry's on the hook, the case will be huge and the publicity enormous.
Kinsey: Does SC have a chance here or is this just the process of the humiliation of discovery and finding out who Harry really is through his texts abd emails? This is why Goldberg thinks Harry will make a big offer to settle, but his hunch is that SC is backed by a news group.
Kinsey asked if in English law Harry could say that he was voicing his honest opinion? That speaking publicly about an RF-founded children's charity was in the public interest?
Goldberg: There are defences to defamation in English law.
1st. If what Harry said is true, SC was a lousy chairman, difficult to work with, a bully and staff were leaving - if this is what Harry said about SC. This is the crux, if he can prove it was true he's not libelled or defamed SC. Harry has to show that it's more likely than not that what he said about SC was true. It's the balance of probabilities.
2nd. It's in the public interest and an honest comment. The governance of this charity is in the public interest.
Goldberg mentioned Harry's calling the DM judgment a whitewash, which was totally wrong.
Kinsey: Could we see Harry on the witness stand defending emails? SC said in a public statement that Harry was behind the Sussex Squad attacks on her, but this may be hard for her to prove.
Discussion continued with speculation about settling the case. There's public opinion to consider. Goldberg said that English judges are of a very high standard. We could have a trial in 2027, and leaks before then unlikely but you never know.