LONDON — Lawyers for the Duchess of Sussex asked a judge at a London court on Wednesday to keep the names of five of her friends out of the public domain as sheMeghan’s attorney said the female friends, who defended her in anonymous magazine interviews last year, are innocent parties who fear intrusion if their names come out. The
Meghan’s attorney, Justin Rushbrooke, argued that the court had a duty to “protect the identity of confidential journalistic sources.” “The friends are important potential witnesses on a key issue,” White said in a written argument. He said removing their names “would be a heavy curtailment of the media’s and the defendant’s entitlement to report this case and the public’s right to know about it.”
In a witness statement submitted in the case, the duchess said “each of these women is a private citizen, young mother, and each has a basic right to privacy.”