Prince Harry made headlines in June when he took the witness stand during the case against MGN, enduring nearly 8 hours of questioning. This marked a pivotal moment in the ongoing legal battle. Prince Harry's lawsuit sought damages from MGN, alleging that newspapers like the Daily Mail and Daily Mirror, among others, engaged in illegal interception of information, fraud, and the use of private investigators for unlawful activities.
The lawsuit accused some 140 articles published between 1996 and 2010 of containing information obtained through illegal means, with 33 individuals selected for consideration in the trial. David Sherborne, the lawyer representing the Duke of Sussex, made a statement outside the high court, emphasizing the significance of today's ruling for truth and accountability. He pointed out that the court's decision revealed that illegal and criminal activities had occurred across all three MGN newspapers for over a decade.
Sherborne commended the legal team for exposing the sworn statements of senior executives, the legal department, and journalists at MGN. He stressed that the case not only uncovered hacking but also revealed systematic and reprehensible behavior, accompanied by cover-ups and destruction of evidence.
In the summary of the judgment, Mr. Justice stated, "I found the Duke's case of voicemail interception and illegal information gathering was only partly proven," noting that 15 of the 33 articles were the result of phone hacking or collecting other illegal information. The judge acknowledged that phone hacking had occurred at a modest level and could be carefully controlled by specific individuals within each newspaper.
Following the verdict, a spokesperson for MGN welcomed the judgment, stating that it provides clarity for businesses to move forward after historic misconduct that had taken place many years ago. They apologized, took full responsibility, and pledged to offer appropriate compensation.
