{"id":35836,"date":"2023-12-15T16:53:03","date_gmt":"2023-12-15T16:53:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/prince-harry-scores-biggest-in-war-against-british-tabloids\/"},"modified":"2023-12-15T16:53:03","modified_gmt":"2023-12-15T16:53:03","slug":"prince-harry-scores-biggest-in-war-against-british-tabloids","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/prince-harry-scores-biggest-in-war-against-british-tabloids\/","title":{"rendered":"Prince Harry scores biggest in war against British tabloids"},"content":{"rendered":"
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LONDON: Prince Harry scored the biggest win yet in his legal war against British tabloids on Friday when London\u2019s High Court ruled he had been a victim of phone-hacking and other unlawful acts by Mirror Group journalists with the knowledge of their editors.<\/strong><\/p>\n

King Charles\u2019 younger son, who became the first senior British royal for 130 years to give evidence in court when he appeared at a trial in June, was awarded 140,600 pounds (around $180,700) after the judge agreed he had been targeted by journalists working for Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN).<\/p>\n

The judge\u2019s conclusion that the editors of the Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror and Sunday People and their executives knew about the wrongdoing vindicates Harry\u2019s vociferous arguments that senior press figures had known about, and covered up, wrongdoing.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday is a great day for truth as well as accountability,\u201d Harry, who was not at court, said in a statement read by his lawyer David Sherborne.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

The prince called for authorities to take action against those identified as having broken the law.<\/p>\n

Since stepping down from royal duties in 2020 and moving to California with his U.S. wife Meghan, the Duke of Sussex has made it his mission to rid the British press of those he accuses of being \u201ccriminals masquerading as journalists\u201d, especially senior executives and editors.<\/p>\n

The ruling said among the editors who knew about the \u201cwidespread\u201d unlawful behaviour was high-profile broadcaster Piers Morgan, the Daily Mirror editor from 1996 to 2004, who has become a leading critic of Harry and Meghan. He has always denied any involvement in phone-hacking.<\/p>\n

Harry was one of about 100 claimants \u2013 including actors, sports stars, celebrities and people who simply had a connection to high-profile figures \u2013 who had sued MGN over claims of phone-hacking and unlawful information-gathering between 1991 and 2011.<\/p>\n

He and three others were chosen as test cases, and the trial considered 33 articles of about 140 he alleged were the result of unlawful behaviour over 15 years from 1996.<\/p>\n

Judge Timothy Fancourt concluded 15 stories were the result of unlawful acts, and that Harry\u2019s phone \u201cwas only hacked to a modest extent\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cHowever, it did happen on occasions from about the end of 2003 to April 2009,\u201d Fancourt said. He awarded the prince aggravated damages because of the cover-up by senior MGN figures.<\/p>\n

In his excoriating judgment, Fancourt concluded there had been widespread hacking and unlawful activities at MGN from 1996 until 2011, even carrying on while a public inquiry into illicit practices at British newspapers was taking place.<\/p>\n

\u2018COMPELLING EVIDENCE\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

In the judgment, Fancourt said there was \u201ccompelling evidence that the editors of each newspaper knew very well that (phone-hacking) was being used extensively and habitually and that they were happy to take the benefits of it\u201d.<\/p>\n

However, he said the board of the company, owned by Reach, had been kept in the dark by its former chief executive Sly Bailey and the group\u2019s legal director.<\/p>\n

He said they had concealed the unlawful behaviour not only from the other directors, but also parliament, a public inquiry into press standards between 2011 and 2012, shareholders and the public \u2013 and the High Court at a previous trial in 2015.<\/p>\n

An MGN spokesperson said: \u201cWe welcome today\u2019s judgment that gives the business the necessary clarity to move forward from events that took place many years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere historical wrongdoing took place, we apologise unreservedly, have taken full responsibility and paid appropriate compensation.\u201d<\/p>\n

A hearing on remaining issues and legal costs will take place next month.<\/p>\n

The MGN case is just one of four Harry is pursuing at the High Court. He has won the right to take to trial a similar phone-hacking case against Associated Newspapers, the publisher of the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday, which he has brought with high-profile figures including singer Elton John.<\/p>\n

Allegations of unlawful behaviour by News Corp\u2019s News Group Newspapers, the publisher of the Sun, will also go to trial.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been told that slaying dragons will get you burned,\u201d Harry\u2019s statement said. \u201cBut in light of today\u2019s victory and the importance of doing what is needed for a free and honest press \u2013 it\u2019s a worthwhile price to pay. The mission continues.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n