Prince Harry receives compensation in hacking case and calls on Piers Morgan

Prince Harry has settled his privacy claims against a British tabloid publisher, his lawyer told a London court on Friday, two months after a judge found the publisher guilty of “widespread and habitual” hacking of the prince's mobile phone.

The settlement with Mirror Group Newspapers – which his lawyer said would amount to at least 400,000 pounds, or $504,000 – ends a battle in Harry's long-running war against the press over its intrusive reporting of his private life.

It was both a financial and symbolic victory, which could help cover the legal costs Harry has incurred in years of lawsuits against the tabloids. In addition to paying the costs of the case, the Mirror Group would pay “significant” damages, the prince's lawyer David Sherborne said.

“We have exposed and proven the shockingly dishonest way in which the Mirror has acted for so many years,” Harry said in a statement read out by Mr Sherborne outside the High Court. Harry, who did not attend the hearing, said he would continue his “mission” to expose what he called the tabloids' corrupt practices.

The case concerned whether the Mirror Group, owner of The Daily Mirror and other tabloid publications, had engaged in unlawful conduct, including phone hacking and other deceptive techniques, to obtain personal information about Harry and the other claimants, including British television. actors.

In December, the judge, Timothy Fancourt, promised the prince 140,600 pounds, or almost $180,000, after discovering that Harry had been the victim of hacking. He left the door open for a further settlement, as that ruling was based on just fifteen articles, a fraction of the material submitted by Harry's lawyers.

The lawyers submitted another 115 articles as evidence of wrongful conduct, which could have required two more expensive trials. By agreeing to a settlement at this stage, legal experts say, the Mirror Group is seeking to limit its financial liability as it faces other potential hacking-related lawsuits.

A spokesperson for the publisher said: “We are pleased to have reached this agreement, which gives our company greater clarity moving forward following events that occurred many years ago for which we have apologised.”

In his statement, Harry named Piers Morgan, a prominent TV personality and former editor of The Daily Mirror, and said Mr Morgan “knew very well what was going on.” Mr Morgan's “disdain for the court's ruling and his continued attacks since show why it was so important to obtain a clear and detailed judgment,” Harry said.

Judge Fancourt said there was evidence Mr Morgan was aware of hacking while at The Mirror. Mr Morgan, who is an outspoken critic of Harry and his wife Meghan, has denied involvement in hacking.

“The judge today again heavily criticized Mirror Group Newspapers for their conduct in this case and awarded costs at the highest level of punishment,” said Daniel Taylor, a media lawyer at the London firm Taylor Hampton, which is one of the other represented plaintiffs in the lawsuit. case, Fiona Wightman.

The settlement came at the end of an anxious, hectic week for Harry, the 39-year-old youngest son of King Charles III. On Monday, shortly after Buckingham Palace announced that the king had been diagnosed with cancer and would suspend his public appearances, Harry flew from Los Angeles to London to visit his father.

The two met for less than an hour at the king's London residence, Clarence House, and Harry returned to the United States almost immediately. On Thursday night, he appeared at a National Football League awards ceremony in Las Vegas, where he presented an award to Pittsburgh Steelers defensive tackle Cameron Heyward.

In a light-hearted speech that drew chuckles from the audience, Harry made no mention of his father's illness. He said of American football that the United States “stole rugby from us and you made it your own.”

Harry's case against the Mirror Group is one of several privacy lawsuits against tabloid publishers. He is also suing Rupert Murdoch's News Group Newspapers, which publishes The Sun, and is part of the lawsuit that also includes pop star Elton John against Associated Newspapers, publisher of The Daily Mail and The Mail on Sunday. These cases also involved accusations of phone hacking.

Last month, Harry withdrew a defamation suit against the publisher of The Mail on Sunday over his security arrangements after he and Meghan parted ways with the royal family and moved to the United States in 2020.

Harry's decision to go to court against the publishers was unusual for a member of the royal family, which usually resolves these disputes through private negotiations or settlements. His older brother, William, settled a privacy claim against News Group Newspapers for a similar amount.

Last June, Harry became the first senior member of the family to appear in court since 1891, when Queen Victoria's eldest son, Prince Albert Edward, testified in a case involving misconduct during a game of baccarat he was present at.

In his sometimes raw testimony, Harry said the flood of negative stories about him and his relatives had led him to distrust even his closest friends. Many stories focused on Harry's relationship with an ex-girlfriend, Chelsy Davy, who he said found a tracking device in her car.

Another article provided details of an episode in which he broke his thumb at school. “Not only do I have no idea how they know that,” Harry testified, “but things like this create paranoia in a young man.”

Editors and reporters, he said, “have blood on their hands” because of the lengths they went to find out news about him and his family.