When asked about when he first approached solicitors regarding a claim against the publisher, Prince Harry suggested that it was actually Mr. Sherborne's idea. "I didn't go to them. I bumped into Mr. Sherborne in France," he said, referring to his memoir.
In his memoir, Prince Harry revealed that he and Meghan felt confident and courageous after a highly successful tour of South Africa in September 2019. They chose that moment to announce that they were suing three British tabloids due to their disgraceful conduct and longstanding practice of phone hacking.
Prince Harry, 38, is suing Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN) for damages, alleging that journalists at its titles, which include the Sunday Mirror and Sunday People, were involved in methods such as phone hacking, blagging (gaining information by deception), and the use of private investigators for unlawful activities.
He stated that Elton John and David had played a role in introducing him to a barrister who was well-versed in the phone hacking scandal.
This acquaintance of theirs shared expertise and open court evidence with Prince Harry, offering a solution to the roadblocks they faced from the palace. The solution was elegantly simple: hire their own lawyer.
In his book, the Duke mentioned that the thought of hiring his own lawyer had never occurred to him. However, Mr. Sherborne was duly hired, and in the High Court on Wednesday, Barrister Andrew Green KC sought to determine how the claim had materialized. Prior to bumping into Mr. Sherborne in France, Prince Harry had not sought legal advice regarding a potential claim against Mirror Group. When asked, he replied, "No, nothing at all."
Prince Harry admitted that he had not considered legal action before that meeting since he had never been presented with any evidence. He explained that all the evidence had been contained within the palace, and he would never have been allowed to make a complaint. Mr. Sherborne's list of clients includes the late Diana, Princess of Wales, actor Michael Douglas, former Prime Minister Tony Blair, and Colleen Rooney during the Wagatha Christie trial.
Sir Elton John settled a phone hacking claim against News Group Newspapers, publisher of The Sun, in 2019. He is now part of a joint claim brought by Prince Harry and others, all represented by Mr. Sherborne, over alleged unlawful information gathering at Associated Newspapers Limited. The publisher vehemently denies these claims.
In the court, Mr. Green asked the Duke if he would feel relieved or disappointed if it was found that he had never been hacked by any Mirror Group journalist. Prince Harry replied, "I'm not entirely sure I believe that phone hacking was at an industrial scale at all three of the papers at the time, and that is without a doubt." He added, "To have a decision against me and any of the other people, given that Mirror Group has accepted hacking, yes, I would feel some injustice if it wasn't accepted."
