On Friday morning, Prince Harry was handed a major legal victory in his yearslong pursuit of the British tabloids. In a nearly 400-page ruling, High Court justice Timothy Fancourt sided with the prince and a selection of other plaintiffs in his case against the Mirror Group Newspapers over historical news-gathering techniques. Harry was awarded 140,600 British pounds in the decision, but when you consider his work to publicize phone-hacking in the UK, the ruling’s text might be even sweeter. Fancourt decided that 15 articles in MGN newspapers contained information that was the result of voicemail interception or unlawful information gathering, adding that the company concealed the use of these tactics from the House of Commons and the 2011 Leveson Inquiry into the practice.
Due to the short notice, Harry was unable to read his own statement at the courthouse after the decision came down, but his lawyer David Sherborne was on hand to read a statement where the prince said he is just getting started. “Today’s ruling is vindicating and affirming,” he said, per People. “I’ve been told that slaying dragons will get you burned, but in light of today’s victory and the importance of doing what is needed for a free and honest press, it is a worthwhile price to pay. The mission continues.”
In response to the verdict, Mirror Group Newspaper released a statement that emphasized the historical nature of the matter. “We welcome today’s judgment that gives the business the necessary clarity to move forward from events that took place many years ago,” a spokesperson said. “Where historical wrongdoing took place, we apologize unreservedly, have taken full responsibility, and paid appropriate compensation.”
The ruling comes after a trial last Spring, which Harry attended. He became the first high-ranking member of the royal family to testify in court in more than a century when he sat in the witness box and withstood cross-examination. During his testimony, he revealed the extent of the impact that tabloids had on his early life and relationships.
In Harry’s statement, he mentioned that he thought the case had wide ramifications. “This case is not just about hacking,” he said. “It is about a systemic 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.”
Harry also explained the effects that the suit, which was launched in October 2019, has had on his life. “The journey to justice can be a slow and painful one and since bringing my claim almost five years ago defamatory stories and intimidating tactics have been deployed against me and at my family’s expense,” he said. “And so, as I too have learnt through this process, patience is, in fact, a virtue. Especially in the face of vendetta journalism.”
He added that he hoped the results would help change the press in the UK and around the world. “My commitment to seeing this case through is based on my belief in our need—and collective right—to a free and honest press. And one which is properly accountable when necessary. That is what we need in Britain and across the globe. Anything else is poisoning the well for a profession we all depend on.
As the former editor of the MGN title the Daily Mirror, broadcaster Piers Morgan also spoke about the verdict, which pertains to the time where he was still helming the title. “I want to reiterate, as I’ve consistently said for many years now—I’ve never hacked a phone or told anybody else to hack a phone. And nobody has produced any actual evidence to prove that I did,” he said, adding that, as he had not been called as a witness, he wasn’t able to “respond to the many false allegations” brought up in the trial by “old foes of mine with an ax to grind.”
Morgan also aimed his fire at Harry. “Prince Harry’s outrage at media intrusion into the private lives of the royal family is only matched by his own ruthless, greedy, and hypocritical enthusiasm for doing it himself,” Morgan said. “He talked today about the appalling behavior of the press. But this is a guy who has repeatedly trashed his family in public for hundreds of millions of dollars, even as two of its most senior and respected members were dying—his grandparents. It’s hard to imagine more appalling behavior than that.”
The ruling comes just days after important development in one of Harry’s other outstanding legal matters in the UK. On Monday, there was a hearing in his suit against the UK Home Office over its 2020 decision to remove his armed security in the country. In a related ongoing libel case against Associated Newspapers, publisher of the Mail on Sunday, he was asked to pay 48,000 British pounds in legal fees to the company, after losing part of the libel battle.
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