British Tabloid Hacked Prince Harry’s Mobile Phone 2006 – 2011
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Raven Ruma
- . December 15, 2023
- . Update: December 15, 2023 6:45 pm
Prince Harry achieved a small victory against British tabloid, the Daily Mirror, for unlawfully obtaining information through phone hacking. The High Court judge ruled that he a victim of phone hacking by the Mirror Group Newspapers.
Justice Fancourt said Harry’s personal phone was targeted repeatedly between 2003 and 2009, with extensive phone hacking from 2006 to 2011. He highlighted that 15 of 33 sample articles shown in court were the product of phone hacking, or the product of other unlawful information gathering.
“I have found the duke’s case of voicemail interception and unlawful information gathering proved in part only. I found that 15 out of 33 articles that were tried were the product of phone hacking of his mobile phone or the mobile phones of his associates, or the product of other unlawful information-gathering. I consider that his phone was only hacked to a modest extent and that this was probably carefully controlled by certain people at each newspaper.”
Prince Harry Sets Precedence
With this case, Prince Harry became the first senior royal to appear as a witness in court for 130 years at the trial in June, testifying over two days in this case. Moreover, he set precedence with a major victory in the long-running battle with Britain’s news media over its prying into his life.
Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, in a statement read by his lawyer, said he was happy to have won the case. “I respectfully call on the authorities, financial regulator, police to do their duty and investigate bringing charges against the Daily Mirror Group.”
The Mirror’s barrister Andrew Green KC admitted that the company had hacked many other celebrities’ voicemails during the early 2000s, but insisted the prince did not have a single item of evidence that he was targeted. However, Justice Fancourt ruled that it was implausible his phone had not been targeted, given that hacking and unlawful information gathering was widespread at the time.
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British Tabloid Unlawful Practice
The court ruled that unlawful and criminal activities were carried out at all three Mirror group newspaper titles – the Mirror, the Sunday Mirror and the People – on a habitual and widespread basis for more than a decade. The judged awarded Prince Harry £140,600 in damages.
David Sherborne, Prince Harry’s lawyer, said this case is not just about hacking. “It is about a systematic practice of unlawful and appalling behavior, followed by cover-ups and destruction of evidence, the shocking scale of which can only be revealed through these proceedings.”
The Mirror Group spokesperson welcomed the court’s judgment saying it gives the business the necessary clarity to move forward from events that took place many years ago. “Where historical wrongdoing took place, we apologize unreservedly, have taken full responsibility and paid appropriate compensation.”
