A U.K. judge ruled Friday that Prince Harry was the victim of phone hacking by the Daily Mirror tabloid publishing group, his first significant victory in his war against the tabloid press.
A judge at the High Court in London accused Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN), which also publishes Sunday Mirror and Sunday People, of having illegally accessed the prince’s messages, for which he must compensate him with 140,600 pounds ($178,500) for damages.
The magistrate estimated that 15 of the 33 articles presented as evidence, published between 1996 and 2009, were the result of piracy of voice messages from the prince and his entourage, as well as other illicit procedures.
Prince Henry celebrated, through his lawyer, the conviction and promised to continue defending himself in court against the press.
“The sentence handed down today vindicates me and gives me confidence“, declared, on behalf of the Duke of Sussex, his lawyer David Sherborne, in a very virulent statement against the practices of the press towards the member of the royal family.
“The mission continues”
The prince, youngest son of King Charles III, who is involved in several lawsuits against the British tabloids, ended the text by warning that he will not give up his efforts.
“The mission continues“said, in the statement, the 39-year-old prince, who has moved to live in the United States with his wife Meghan and their two children, after distancing himself from his family.
Magistrate Timothy Fancourt understood in his trial of the facts that the prince’s mobile phone had been ‘hacked’, although “in a modest size”.
The prince denounced the press group for hacking his voice messages and obtaining information illegally, turning to private detectives.
The group rejected most of the accusations, questioning in particular hacking into messaging.
He admitted, however, that he apologized for illegal proceedings in five of the 33 articles, such as the use of a private detective in connection with a nightclub outing in 2004.
“When irregularities occur, we apologize unreservedly, assume full responsibility and pay appropriate compensation.”wrote the editorial group.
The magistrate highlighted in his judgment the “trend” from Prince Harry to think that “everything that was published was the product of ‘hacked’ voice messages” because this practice “was prevalent within the Mirror Group at the time.”
But this practiceIt was not the only journalistic tool at that time”, which is why he rejected the prince’s accusations in the other 18 articles presented.
The judge concluded that the newspapers carried out “extensive” phone hacking of celebrities between 2006 and 2011, even as a public inquiry into the conduct of the British press was underway.
During the trial, the prince gave evidence for eight hours, spread over two days of hearing, last June.
War against the press
It was the first appearance by a member of the royal family in court since Edward VII in 1891, before he became king, in a libel trial.
This ruling proves him right in one of the several cases initiated against the tabloids, four days after having lost another.
Last Monday, Prince Harry was ordered to pay 48,447 pounds ($60,780) to the publisher of the Mail on Sunday newspaper after losing one of the cases in a defamation lawsuit against the tabloid.
The prince has vowed to make reforming Britain’s media his life’s mission.
In this sense, he has started a legal battle against several sensationalist media, which he blames for the death of his mother Diana in 1997, in a car accident in Paris, when she was being chased by paparazzi.
Harry also accuses the tabloids of treating his wife Meghan Markle the same way.
Source: Gestion
Ricardo is a renowned author and journalist, known for his exceptional writing on top-news stories. He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he is known for his ability to deliver breaking news and insightful analysis on the most pressing issues of the day.
