LONDON (AP) – Prince Harry on Friday called his “mission” to rein in British media after accepting costs and damages from tabloid publishers who violated privacy through phone hacking and other illegal snooping. stated that it is continuing.
Prince Harry’s lawyer David Sherborne told the court hearing that Mirror Group Newspapers had agreed to pay all of the prince’s legal costs and “substantial” damages, with a total of 400,000 pounds (500,000 pounds) within 14 days. He said he plans to pay an interim payment of $5,000. The last tab will be evaluated later.
Prince Harry said he had been vindicated and vowed: “Our mission continues.”
In a statement read out by a lawyer outside the High Court in London, the 39-year-old royal said: “The Mirror has revealed that it has acted in a shockingly dishonest manner for many years and then attempted to conceal the truth.” , has been proven.” .
Former Daily Mirror editor Piers Morgan at his London home after the Duke of Sussex settled the remainder of his phone hacking lawsuit against Mirror Group newspapers. Photo date: Friday, February 9, 2024 (Photo by: James Manning/PA Images via Getty Images)
The Duke of Sussex’s barrister David Sherborne (right) speaks to the media outside the Rolls Building in central London as the Duke of Sussex settles the remainder of his phone hacking case against Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN). the court heard. Photo date: Friday, February 9, 2024 (Photo by: James Manning/PA Images via Getty Images)
A judge found that phone hacking at Mirror Group Newspapers in the late 1990s was “widespread and chronic” and had been going on for more than a decade, and that newspaper executives had reported on it. was awarded damages of 140,000 pounds (approximately $177,000). Up. Judge Timothy Fancourt found Harry’s phone had been hacked “to some extent”.
The settlement avoids a new trial over 115 tabloid articles that Harry claims are the product of hacking or other intrusions.
Mirror Group said in a statement: “We are pleased to have reached this agreement. It provides further clarity that our business will move forward from the events that occurred many years ago and for which we have apologized.” .
Prince Harry’s lawsuit against the publisher of the Daily Mirror is one of several he has launched in a campaign against the British media, claiming he has ruined his life and accused his late mother, Princess Diana, and his wife, Meghan, of ruining his life. He is accusing him of cornering both the princesses.
In June, he became the first senior member of the royal family to testify in court in more than a century during the trial of the case against the Mirror newspaper.
Prince Harry, also known as the Duke of Sussex, did not appear in court for Friday’s sentencing. He traveled to London from his home in California earlier this week to visit his father, Charles III, who has been diagnosed with cancer. Harry flew back to the United States about 24 hours later.
Prince Harry is currently pursuing legal action against the publishers of The Sun and Daily Mail over allegations of illegal snooping. He recently dropped a defamation lawsuit against the Mail publisher following an unfavorable pretrial ruling.
As Prince Harry returns to the UK, Dr. King makes his first public appearance since his cancer diagnosis.https://t.co/38NVZWv0gR
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) February 6, 2024
At a hearing on Friday, the judge ordered Miller Group to pay a portion of the legal costs of three other plaintiffs whose case was being tried alongside Harry’s.
Fancourt said the court’s findings into the publisher’s misconduct “vindicated all plaintiffs” and said the company’s “attempts to conceal the truth” had increased legal costs.
He ordered the publisher to pay “common costs” in a public lawsuit seeking to prove the company’s wrongdoing. This is separate from the legal costs of bringing a particular individual claim.
The judge said the other three claimants had made exaggerated claims or did not accept reasonable settlement offers and would have to pay part of the costs in the Miller Group’s separate cases.
A judge found in December that the privacy of all four plaintiffs had been violated, but the lawsuit brought by actor Nicky Sanderson and Fiona Wightman, ex-wife of comedian Paul Whitehouse, was filed too late. It was discarded as such. Actor Michael Turner’s argument was partially successful.
British newspaper phone hacking dates back more than 20 years, when scoop-hungry journalists regularly called the phone numbers of royals, celebrities, politicians and athletes and were encouraged to leave messages. Back in the days when people used to tap voicemails by entering default passcodes.
In 2011, it was revealed that Rupert Murdoch’s News of the World had intercepted messages from murdered girls, relatives of dead soldiers, and bombing victims. It developed into a full-fledged scandal. Murdoch shut down the paper and the former News of the World editor was jailed.
The newspaper was later found to have used other methods of infiltration, including wiretapping phones, eavesdropping on homes, and obtaining details of medical records through deception.
Mirror Group Newspapers said it had paid out more than 100 million pounds ($127 million) in phone hacking cases over the years, but denied any wrongdoing in Harry’s case. He said he used legal reporting methods to obtain information about the prince.
Prince Harry has slammed former Daily Mirror editor Piers Morgan, who denies knowing about phone hacking while at the newspaper.
Harry said in a statement that Morgan was “fully aware of what was going on.”
“His disdain for the court’s judgment and the attacks that have continued since then demonstrate why it is so important to obtain a clear and detailed judgment,” the prince said.
Morgan, who has accused Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan of trying to “destroy” the British royal family, wrote in X magazine: he stops doing it. ”
