The court ruling declared Prince Harry a victim of phone hacking by journalists working for Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN). In his statement, read by his lawyer David Sherborne, Prince Harry emphasized that the case went beyond hacking, addressing the "systemic and appalling behavior followed by cover-ups."
Prince Harry alleged that the "shocking scale" of the wrongdoing was exposed through the court proceedings and claimed that MGN’s board directors, legal team, and editors, including Piers Morgan during his tenure as editor from 1995 to 2004, "clearly knew about" phone hacking.
In response to the court ruling, MGN stated, "We welcome today’s judgment that gives the business the necessary clarity to move forward from events that took place many years ago. Where historical wrongdoing took place, we apologise unreservedly, have taken full responsibility and paid appropriate compensation."
Justice Fancourt's ruling characterized unlawful information-gathering as "widespread" across all three Mirror Group titles from 1996 onwards, with phone hacking becoming "habitual" from 1998. Prince Harry's claim against Piers Morgan adds a new dimension to the aftermath of the court victory, further fueling the ongoing public discourse around the case.
