Omid Scobie, co-author of a 2020 bestseller about Harry and his wife Meghan, testified in the trial between the king’s youngest son and a British tabloid publisher.
Prince Harry biographer Omid Scobie on Monday denied having a “personal interest” in helping the king’s youngest son during his trial against a British tabloid publisher.
Omid Scobie, co-author of a 2020 bestseller about Harry and his wife Meghan, gave evidence in the trial at the High Court in London, where Harry is one of the plaintiffs.
The youngest son of King Charles III, at odds with his family, has launched a war against the tabloid press, by multiplying the legal proceedings.
The Duke of Sussex, who left for California with a bang in 2020, has already attacked the publisher of the Daily Mail as well as News Group Newspapers(NGN), publisher of the Sun notably.
“I don’t have a close relationship with them”
The hearing which opened last week is this time aimed at the Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN), which publishes in particular The Mirror, Sunday Mirror et Sunday People. MGN is accused by Harry and other celebrities of illegal information gathering, including listening to voicemails.
Questioned in court on Monday, Omid Scobie denied having any “personal interest in helping the Duke of Sussex if the opportunity arose”.
He said he did not have Harry’s phone number and was wrongly described as close to the princely couple. “I don’t have a close relationship with them personally,” he added.
In his deposition, Omid Scobie said he was shown how to hack a phone’s voicemail when he was a journalism student and spent a week working for Sunday People.
He told the court he was taught to listen to voicemails “as if it were a routine information-gathering technique”.
His “unreserved” apologies
In documents made public at the start of the hearing, MGN admitted to the existence of “some evidence” of illegal information gathering. He apologized “unreservedly”.
In addition to Prince Harry, several personalities, including singer Cheryl of the group Girls Aloud, actor Ricky Tomlinson and ex-footballer Ian Wright, have filed lawsuits.
The trial is expected to last several weeks and Harry is expected to take the stand, according to British press, in June
