Overall, the process is designed for seven weeks – but Prince Harry (38) has his first success in his pocket on the first day of the process!
In connection with its claim for damages against the publisher of the tabloid “Mirror”, the publisher apologized in a written submission for having partially commissioned the spying on Harry and other celebrities. Publisher Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN) vowed that this would never happen again.
Harry and other celebrities accuse those responsible at the time of the tabloids “The Mirror”, “The Sunday Mirror” and “Sunday People” of having known about illegal methods such as intercepting cell phone voice messages and fraudulently obtaining medical data.
The fact that journalists and private detectives spied on celebrities and crime victims in the 1990s and 2000s is no longer a secret. Individual journalists were prosecuted, and some claims for damages were settled through settlements. But now the question is whether and how the management level of the MGN newspapers was involved in the illegal activities.
Plaintiff attorney David Sherborne began reading the complaint on Wednesday. From 1995 onwards, Prince Harry became the target of the “most abusive methods of obtaining private information,” Sherborne said, speaking of “appalling” practices. The process is to be conducted on the basis of several individual cases as examples for a class action lawsuit by many other plaintiffs.
Prince Harry is about principle. In addition to celebrities, victims of sensational crimes and their relatives have also become the target of illegal research methods. The Duke of Sussex’s case highlights what has happened to many other lesser-known individuals, Sherborne said, adding, “That’s why he decided to bring the lawsuit.”
The spying “had taken place on an industrial scale in all three newspapers,” continued the star lawyer, who had represented Prince Harry in other cases. Invoices proved that private detectives were commissioned and paid for by various departments within the editorial offices. The legal department and the board of directors were also aware of the events. He spoke of a “flood of breaches of the law” authorized by senior editors.
The other side wants to set out its arguments on Friday, before witness questioning begins next week. The publisher denies that phones were tapped in the cases brought forward in the current proceedings. In addition, many of the allegations are not justified and are also time-barred.
Prince Harry could have his say in the process
It is expected that the younger son of King Charles III. (74) will take the witness stand himself in June. The focus of the proceedings is likely to be the former editor-in-chief of the “Mirror”, Piers Morgan, who ran the paper from 1995 to 2004. Morgan had distinguished himself in recent years as a sharp critic of Harry’s wife Meghan (41). He rejects the allegations in the current proceedings.
The trial is one of several Prince Harry is conducting in the UK against the tabloid media known as the “Tabloid Press”. In March, he surprisingly appeared as a witness in proceedings against the publisher of the newspapers “Daily Mail” and “Mail on Sunday” (belongs to Associated Newspapers Limited). Harry has also initiated proceedings against the publishers of the newspapers “Sun” and the now discontinued “News Group Newspapers” because of similar allegations.
(dpa/cbu)
