The publisher of a British tabloid has apologized to Prince Harry for illegally seeking information about him, as the royal prepares to testify in a lawsuit over alleged “industrial-scale” phone hacking.
Harry, 38, and more than a hundred celebrities, including actors, sports stars, singers, and TV personalities, are suing Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN), accusing its titles of routinely accessing private information through widespread phone hacking, deception, and other illegal means between 1991 and 2011.
According to the claimants, the illegal behavior at the Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror, and Sunday People occurred with the full knowledge of senior editors and top executives who knew about it, approved it, and actively covered it up.
Reach (RCH.L) owns the rights to the titles.
MGN is contesting the allegations, claiming that some were brought too late and rejecting the majority of them, including the claim that there was no evidence that Harry, known officially as the Duke of Sussex and the younger son of King Charles, was a victim of hacking. It denies that any senior officials were aware of any illegal acts.
MGN did admit in documents filed with the High Court in London that a private investigator was hired to unlawfully gather evidence about him in a London nightclub in 2004, saying it “unreservedly apologizes and accepts that (Harry) is entitled to appropriate compensation.”
“The fee paid (75 pounds) suggests little work was involved,” MGN’s lawyers said, adding that they had no idea what it was about and that it was not part of the Duke of Sussex’s claim.
PRINCE TO GIVE EVIDENCE
According to local media, Harry, who was not present at the start of the hearing, has been chosen as one of four test cases for the seven-week trial and is scheduled to give evidence in person in early June, making him the first British royal to do so since the nineteenth century.
“Prince or not, the blatantly unlawful and illegal methods that were used by the defendant to get every piece of information about his life away from royal duties was quite frankly appalling,” David Sherborne, the lawyer representing Harry and the other claimants, told the court on Wednesday.
“Noone should have been subjected to that.”
Piers Morgan, the Daily Mirror editor from 1995 to 2004 and a former CNN presenter, was among the MGN figures Sherborne said must have known about the “industrial scale” hacking.
Sherborne claimed in his written court submission that former Mirror employees told him how Morgan knew about it.
Morgan told the BBC that he had never told anyone to hack into a phone.
“There is no evidence that I knew anything about any of it,” he declared. When asked if he was concerned about the legal action, he responded, “No, not at all.”
CORONATION
The trial began just days after his father’s coronation on Saturday, at which Harry made only a brief appearance and played no formal role. He is thought to have immediately returned to California, where his son Prince Archie was celebrating his fourth birthday.
The Mirror case is one of four Harry is currently pursuing against newspapers, claiming it is his responsibility to expose “criminality” committed by tabloids.
Since stepping down from their royal roles in 2020, Harry and his wife Meghan have lashed out at both the press and the palace, including those working for his brother Prince William and his stepmother, Queen Camilla, accusing them of colluding in “lies” in the media.
MGN’s lawyers stated in court that many of the approximately 140 stories that Harry claims were obtained illegally were, in fact, briefed by royal aides.
“Many came from information disclosed by or on behalf of royal households or members of the royal family,” the lawyers for the publishers stated.
A document submitted by Harry’s lawyers, however, detailed incidents of MGN making “highly suspicious” calls to his friends, aides, and family, including his sister-in-law Kate, Princess of Wales.
It was also claimed that 267 payments were made to private investigators to look into Harry and those close to him, including Charles, William, and Harry’s late mother, Princess Diana.
According to the document, MGN’s behavior led to his breakup with his ex-girlfriend Chelsy Davy.
