Princess Haya and her lawyer Baroness Fiona Shackleton arrive at the High Court in London
Princess Haya and her lawyer, Baroness Shackleton, arrive at the High Court in London CREDIT: Reuters
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum is facing a possible police investigation after a judge found he had hacked phones belonging to his ex-wife and her lawyer.
In a damning series of judgments published on Wednesday, Sir Andrew McFarlane, the president of the Family Division, found the ruler of Dubai and vice president and prime minister of the United Arab Emirates had committed a “total abuse of trust, and indeed an abuse of power” by targeting the phones of Princess Haya and her lawyer, Baroness Shackleton, a Tory peer, “unlawfully” with sophisticated spyware.
The latest twist in one of the most expensive and bitter custody battles in English legal history will prove acutely embarrassing for the billionaire sheikh, one of the UK’s closest Middle Eastern allies. It could even jeopardise his friendship with the Royal family.
It emerged Cherie Blair QC contacted Baroness Shackleton, the respected divorce lawyer, in August last year, to warn how phones belonging to her and Princess Haya had been hacked.
The wife of Tony Blair, the former Labour prime minister, had been working as an “external adviser” on human rights for NSO Group, an Israeli intelligence company that created Pegasus, software that infects a phone before “harvesting” data. Mrs Blair was alerted by a “whistleblower” within the company that an unnamed state had carried out the attack.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum and Princess Haya during the Dubai World Cup 2016
Princess Haya and Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum during the Dubai World Cup 2016 CREDIT: Shutterstock
Court papers show Princess Haya, 47, was given court “permission” to hand Sir Andrew’s judgment detailing the hacking to the Metropolitan Police, Thames Valley Police and Surrey Police.
Meanwhile, the sheikh, who owns Godolphin stables, complained he would struggle to visit the Queen at Windsor Castle and also Ascot Racecourse for horse trials if the judge imposed a “draconian” exclusion zone around his ex-wife’s Surrey mansion.
In a separate non-molestation judgment, the judge found the sheikh had left his ex-wife feeling “mightily intimidated and frightened” after he had tried to buy Parkwood Estate, a 77-acre property, which “abuts” her Castlewood House, the Surrey home left to her by her late father, King Hussein of Jordan.
All of Sir Andrew’s numerous fact-finding judgments have been reached based on the balance of probabilities, the civil law standard of proof, which is a lower standard compared to criminal law where a jury must be convinced “beyond reasonable doubt”.
Nearly 1,000 pages of legal documents were released on Wednesday after media organisations – including The Telegraph – won a legal battle to be able to report them. The judge, along with a court-appointed guardian, approved publication because it was in the interests of the couple’s children, Jalila and Zayed, now 13 and nine.
Princess Haya fled Dubai with their two children in April 2019, after allegedly having an affair with her bodyguard, Russell Flowers.
Queen Elizabeth and Princess Haya at the Windsor Horse
The Queen and Princess Haya at the Windsor Horse show CREDIT: Mark Cuthbert
The 72-year-old sheikh, who spends much of his time in the UK, divorced Princess Haya under Sharia law before beginning a custody battle through the English courts.
But, in March 2020, Sir Andrew, who is presiding over the case, found the sheikh had pursued a “campaign of harassment” against the princess, as well used his apparatus of state to abduct two of his other daughters by a separate marriage – Princess Shamsa in 2000 and Princess Latifa in 2018.
Although the sheikh has since dropped his attempt to obtain custody of Jalila and Zayed, the case has been continuing over welfare issues, much of which cannot be reported.
The judge noted how “unusually in a fact finding process”, the father “chose not to file any evidence” and so the case was conducted on the basis he could “neither confirm nor deny that the UAE (including Dubai) has or had any contract with NSO for the supply or use of Pegasus”.
On Wednesday night, the sheikh rejected the judge’s findings and allegations made by his wife.
In a statement, he said: “I have always denied the allegations made against me and I continue to do so. These matters concern supposed operations of state security.
“As a head of government involved in private family proceedings, it was not appropriate for me to provide evidence on such sensitive matters either personally or via my advisers in a foreign court. Neither the Emirate of Dubai nor the UAE are party to these proceedings and they did not participate in the hearing. The findings are therefore inevitably based on an incomplete picture.
“In addition, the findings were based on evidence that was not disclosed to me or my advisers. I therefore maintain that they were made in a manner which was unfair.
“I ask that the media respect the privacy of our children and do not intrude into their lives in the UK.”
Courtesy Telegraph.co.uk.
