London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Sep 11, 2025

Piers Morgan was told story was from voicemails, court hears

Piers Morgan was told story was from voicemails, court hears

Piers Morgan was told a Daily Mirror story about Kylie Minogue was obtained from voicemails during his time as the paper's editor, a court has heard.
Omid Scobie, who wrote a book about Prince Harry, says he heard the conversation while an intern in 2002.

Mr Morgan has always denied knowledge of any phone hacking.

Prince Harry is among a group accusing Mirror Group Newspapers of unlawful information-gathering. The newspaper group is contesting the claims.

MGN denies senior executives at the publisher of Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror and Sunday People knew about the practices and failed to stop them.

It is alleged that journalists from the newspapers obtained private and confidential information about people's lives through a variety of unlawful means between 1991 and 2011 - including accessing voicemail messages on their phones.

Mr Scobie was called to give evidence on day four of a High Court case brought against MGN.

The court heard that as a journalism student, Mr Scobie spent a week at the Sunday People where he claims he was given "a list of mobile numbers followed by a detailed verbal description of how to listen to voicemails, as if it were a routine newsgathering technique".

In a written witness statement describing work experience at the Daily Mirror in the spring of 2002, the royal commentator "recalls during one of those days in the office the editor, Piers Morgan, came over to talk to someone about a story relating to Kylie Minogue and her [then] boyfriend James Gooding".

"Mr Morgan was asking how confident they were in the reporting and was told that the information had come from voicemails," the statement adds.

"I recall being surprised to hear this at the time, which is why it stuck in my mind."

The court was also told there is an invoice from a private investigator firm for £170, addressed to a showbiz journalist at the paper, for "K Minogue".

Mirror Group Newspapers is contesting the cases and has said there is "no evidence, or no sufficient evidence, of voicemail interception" in any of the four claims chosen as "representative" cases.

Andrew Green KC, for the group, accused Mr Scobie of "a false memory" and being a mouthpiece for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, after co-authoring a book about them - Finding Freedom.

Mr Scobie denied having a "vested interest" in helping Prince Harry.

"What I am doing right now is giving ammunition to the tabloids to continue calling me his friend," Mr Scobie told the court.

The royal correspondent said he did not have Prince Harry's mobile number, adding: "I am a member of the press trying to do my job... what I am doing today is making my life more difficult."

Returning to Mr Scobie's work experience at MGN, Mr Green went on to suggest it was "somewhat implausible" that a student intern, who was only at the paper for about a week, would have been asked to hack phones.

Mr Scobie replied: "I was not a stranger to this [journalist], I had already met them at some events, I knew them through another person.

"The word hack was not used... this was just a journalist telling me how to do something."

Mr Scobie said: "It felt wrong. In the moment you just sit there and listen, it's only as it sinks in that it does not feel right."

He said he did not hack any phones.

Prince Harry is expected to give evidence at the trial in June. He 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.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
ChatGPT CEO signals policy to alert authorities over suicidal youth after teen’s death
The British legal mafia hit back: Banksy mural of judge beating protester is scrubbed from London court
Surpassing Musk: Larry Ellison becomes the richest man in the world
Embarrassment for Starmer: He fired the ambassador photographed on Epstein’s 'pedophile island'
Manhunt after 'skilled sniper' shot Charlie Kirk. Footage: Suspect running on rooftop during panic
Effective Protest Results: Nepal’s Prime Minister Resigns as Youth-Led Unrest Shakes the Nation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
King Charles and Prince Harry Share First In-Person Moment in 19 Months
Starmer Establishes Economic ‘Budget Board’ to Centralise Policy and Rebuild Business Trust
France Erupts in Mass ‘Block Everything’ Protests on New PM’s First Day
Poland Shoots Down Russian Drones in Airspace Violation During Ukraine Attack
Brazilian police say ex-President Bolsonaro had planned to flee to Argentina seeking asylum
Trinidad Leader Applauds U.S. Naval Strike and Advocates Forceful Action Against Traffickers
Kim Jong Un Oversees Final Test of New High-Thrust Solid-Fuel Rocket Engine
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Macron Appoints Sébastien Lecornu as Prime Minister Amid Budget Crisis and Political Turmoil
Supreme Court temporarily allows Trump to pause billions in foreign aid
Charlie Sheen says his father, Martin Sheen, turned him in to the police: 'The greatest betrayal possible'
Vatican hosts first Catholic LGBTQ pilgrimage
Apple Unveils iPhone 17 Series, iPhone Air, Apple Watch 11 and More at 'Awe Dropping' Event
Pig Heads Left Outside Multiple Paris Mosques in Outrage-Inducing Acts
Nvidia’s ‘Wow’ Factor Is Fading. The AI chip giant used to beat Wall Street expectations for earnings by a substantial margin. That trajectory is coming down to earth.
France joins Eurozone’s ‘periphery’ as turmoil deepens, say investors
On the Anniversary of Queen Elizabeth’s Death: Prince Harry Returns to Britain
France Faces New Political Crisis, again, as Prime Minister Bayrou Pushed Out
Murdoch Family Finalises $3.3 Billion Succession Pact, Ensuring Eldest Son’s Leadership
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Court Staff Cover Up Banksy Image of Judge Beating a Protester
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Nayib Bukele Points Out Belgian Hypocrisy as Brussels Considers Sending Army into the Streets
Elon Musk Poised to Become First Trillionaire Under Ambitious Tesla Pay Plan
France, at an Impasse, Heads Toward Another Government Collapse
Burning the Minister’s House Helped Protesters to Win Justice: Prabowo Fires Finance Minister in Wake of Indonesia Protests
Brazil Braces for Fallout from Bolsonaro Trial by corrupted judge
The Country That Got Too Rich? Public Spending Dominates Norway Election
Nearly 40 Years Later: Nike Changes the Legendary Slogan Just Do It
Generations Born After 1939 Unlikely to Reach Age One Hundred, New Study Finds
End to a four-year manhunt in New Zealand: the father who abducted his children to the forests was killed, the three siblings were found
Germany Suspends Debt Rules, Funnels €500 Billion Toward Military and Proxy War Strategy
EU Prepares for War
BMW Eyes Growth in China with New All‑Electric Neue Klasse Lineup
Trump Threatens Retaliatory Tariffs After EU Imposes €2.95 Billion Fine on Google
Tesla Board Proposes Unprecedented One-Trillion-Dollar Performance Package for Elon Musk
US Justice Department Launches Criminal Mortgage-Fraud Probe into Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook
Escalating Drug Trafficking and Violence in Latin America: A Growing Crisis
US and Taiwanese Defence Officials Held Secret Talks in Alaska
Report: Secret SEAL Team 6 Mission in North Korea Ordered by Trump in 2019 Ended in Failure
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Florida Murder Case: The Adelson Family, the Killing of Dan Markel, and the Trial of Donna Adelson
×