If you haven’t been following every beat of the Meghan Markle v Mail appeal in court (who could blame you?) there was a significant development last week.
Meghan has been forced to make a new statement to the court admitting that – contrary to her previous claims – she had actually drafted her infamous letter to ‘Daddy’ with an eye on how it would be read by the public if it leaked. Not only that, but she’s also just remembered that she did in fact help brief the writers of her recent biography, Finding Freedom, too – when she told the previous judge she categorically hadn’t.
This sort of climbdown plays badly in PR terms. It also gives the media a chance to make hay. But is this legally problematic for her? Erm, yes…
Bad: Because Meghan only made this confession after a witness provided contradictory evidence, it now calls into question all her testimony – and Mail lawyers will likely suggest Meghan was desperate to get a summary judgement precisely because she knew this evidence would come to light if it made it to court.
Worse: The email evidence is all on the Palace’s server and can be searched by keyword and handed to the Mail, who can now claim public interest in disclosing them – and anything else those emails may contain.
Worst: It seems her lawyers are every bit as surprised by these revelations as anyone else. A backpedal this big is extremely professionally embarrassing for them, which means her legal team will not be in any great rush to put their necks on the line for her again. |