London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Oct 28, 2025

Harry and others 'long way off' proving hacking claims, Mirror publisher says

Harry and others 'long way off' proving hacking claims, Mirror publisher says

Prince Harry and other celebrity claimants are a "long way off" proving Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN) unlawfully gathered information on them, the publisher has told a court.

Harry is among high-profile figures accusing MGN of various illicit practices including phone hacking.

Andrew Green KC, representing MGN, said the evidence was "slim" in some areas and "utterly non-existent" in others.

He spoke on day three of a highly anticipated hearing at the High Court.

MGN, which publishes the Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror and Sunday People newspapers, vehemently denies the allegations.

During Friday's proceedings, Mr Green said the claims had been made with "no basis" and "a sense of outrage".

"The evidence in this case is slim in relation to one of the claimants and utterly non-existent for the other three," he told the court.

He also took aim at the newspaper articles that had been submitted as evidence, saying they offered a "breathtaking level of triviality".

Some 207 stories, published between 1991 and 2011, make up the bulk of the case's evidence. More than 60% of them are about Harry, Duke of Sussex.

As well as intercepting voicemails, the claimants have accused the publisher of using private investigators to illegally gather details about them to write stories.

David Sherborne, the lawyer representing the claimants, told the court that the board knew about the hacking and covered it up.

In response, MGN said the claimants were "smearing" executives, adding that there had been "extreme allegations of dishonesty".

Prince Harry phone hacking trial explained

Harry is among four people whose claims are being heard in the trial as "representative" cases of the types of allegations facing the publisher. They will also help the court set the level of damages MGN should pay if the claimants win.

Others involved are Coronation Street actors Nikki Sanderson and Michael Turner, known by his stage name Michael Le Vell, and comedian Paul Whitehouse's ex-wife Fiona Wightman.

Michael Le Vell was pictured arriving at court on the first day of the trial


The publisher's lawyer argued that Ms Sanderson and Ms Wightman have run out of time to sue for damages, because these types of claims should be brought within six years of the alleged victim knowing what happened.

The Mirror Group's lawyer said phone hacking has been talked about for at least 20 years, with the publisher publicly apologising for its part in the high-profile scandal in 2014.

Therefore, he argued, any potential victims should have known long ago to get a case started.

But Mr Sherborne said the claimants would not have suspected they too were victims because MGN covered up their wrongdoings so well and for so long.

Mr Green compared this current case to the one in 2015, where MGN conceded that unlawful techniques were used to obtain private information, and was ordered to pay £1.25m in damages.

But he said this case is different, because back then, there was "direct evidence" from Dan Evans, a former Sunday Mirror journalist.

Mr Evans "has not said he hacked any of (the claimants)" this time around, Mr Green said.

Depending on the outcome of this case, the court could then consider cases from a range of celebrities including former Girls Aloud singer Cheryl and former Arsenal and England footballer Ian Wright.

During Thursday's hearing, Mr Sherborne told the court that one of the most "serious and troubling" features of the case included "the systemic and widespread use of PIs (private investigators) by MGN journalists to unlawfully obtain private information" of various individuals.

He referred the court to key senior MGN figures who he claimed "authorised" the unlawful obtaining of information.

He said this included former editors Piers Morgan, Neil Wallis, Tina Weaver, Mark Thomas, Richard Wallace and Bridget Rowe, and alleged that managing editors and senior executives also knew.

"Mr Morgan was right at the heart of this in many ways," Mr Sherborne told the court.

Mr Morgan, who edited the Mirror from 1995 until 2004, has repeatedly denied any knowledge of unlawful information gathering happening under his watch - in particular phone hacking.

The trial, which is expected to run for seven weeks, will continue on Monday, when Mr Evans will testify.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Bill Gates at 70: “I Have a Real Fear of Artificial Intelligence – and Also Regret”
Elon Musk Unveils Grokipedia: An AI-Driven Alternative to Wikipedia
Saudi Arabia Unveils Vision for First-Ever "Sky Stadium" Suspended Over Desert Floor
Amazon Announces 14 000 Corporate Job Cuts as AI Investment Accelerates
UK Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since March, Food Leads the Decline
London Stock Exchange Group ADR (LNSTY) Earns Zacks Rank #1 Upgrade on Rising Earnings Outlook
Soap legend Tony Adams, long-time star of Crossroads, dies at 84
Rachel Reeves Signals Tax Increases Ahead of November Budget Amid £20-50 Billion Fiscal Gap
NatWest Past Gains of 314% Spotlight Opportunity — But Some Key Risks Remain
UK Launches ‘Golden Age’ of Nuclear with £38 Billion Sizewell C Approval
UK Announces £1.08 Billion Budget for Offshore Wind Auction to Boost 2030 Capacity
UK Seeks Steel Alliance with EU and US to Counter China’s Over-Capacity
UK Struggles to Balance China as Both Strategic Threat and Valued Trading Partner
Argentina’s Markets Surge as Milei’s Party Secures Major Win
British Journalist Sami Hamdi Detained by U.S. Authorities After Visa Revocation Amid Israel-Gaza Commentary
King Charles Unveils UK’s First LGBT+ Armed Forces Memorial at National Memorial Arboretum
At ninety-two and re-elected: Paul Biya secures eighth term in Cameroon amid unrest
Racist Incidents Against UK Nurses Surge by 55%
UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves Cites Shared Concerns With Trump Administration as Foundation for Early US-UK Trade Deal
Essentra plc: A Closer Look at a UK ‘Penny Stock’ Opportunity Amid Market Weakness
U.S. and China Near Deal to Avert Rare-Earth Export Controls Ahead of Trump-Xi Summit
Justin time: Justin Herbert Shields Madison Beer with Impressive Reflex at Lakers Game
Russia’s President Putin Declares Burevestnik Nuclear Cruise Missile Ready for Deployment
Giuffre’s Memoir Alleges Maxwell Claimed Sexual Act with Clooney
House Republicans Move to Strip NYC Mayoral Front-Runner Zohran Mamdani of U.S. Citizenship
Record-High Spoiled Ballots Signal Voter Discontent in Ireland’s 2025 Presidential Election
Philippines’ Taal Volcano Erupts Overnight with 2.4 km Ash Plume
Albania’s Virtual AI 'Minister' Diella Set to 'Birth' Eighty-Three Digital Assistants for MPs
Tesla Unveils Vision for Optimus V3 as ‘Biggest Product of All Time’, Including Surgical Capabilities
Francis Ford Coppola Auctions Luxury Watches After Self-Financed Film Flop
Convicted Sex Offender Mistakenly Freed by UK Prison Service Arrested in London
United States and China Begin Constructive Trade Negotiations Ahead of Trump–Xi Summit
U.S. Treasury Sanctions Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro over Drug-Trafficking Allegations
Miss USA Crowns Nebraska’s Audrey Eckert Amid Leadership Overhaul
‘I Am Not Done’: Kamala Harris Signals Possible 2028 White House Run
NBA Faces Integrity Crisis After Mass Arrests in Gambling Scandal
Swift Heist at the Louvre Sees Eight French Crown Jewels Stolen in Under Seven Minutes
U.S. Halts Trade Talks with Canada After Ontario Ad Using Reagan Voice Triggers Diplomatic Fallout
Microsoft AI CEO: ‘We’re making an AI that you can trust your kids to use’ — but can Microsoft rebuild its own trust before fixing the industry’s?
China and Russia Deploy Seductive Espionage Networks to Infiltrate U.S. Tech Sector
Apple’s ‘iPhone Air’ Collapses After One Month — Another Major Misstep for the Tech Giant
Graham Potter Begins New Chapter as Sweden Head Coach on Short-Term Deal
Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa Alleges Poison Plot via Chocolate and Jam
Lakestar to Halt External Fundraising as Investor in Revolut and Spotify
U.S. Innovation Ranking Under Scrutiny as China Leads Output Outputs but Ranks 10th
Three Men Arrested in London on Suspicion of Spying for Russia
Porsche Reverses EV Strategy as New CEO Bets on Petrol and Hybrids
Singapore’s Prime Minister Warns of ‘Messy’ Transition to Post-American Global Order
Andreessen Horowitz Sets Sights on Ten-Billion-Dollar Fund for Tech Surge
US Administration Under President Donald Trump Reportedly Lifts Ban on Ukraine’s Use of Storm Shadow Missiles Against Russia
×