London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Oct 30, 2025

Prince Harry case told MGN knew about phone hacking

Prince Harry case told MGN knew about phone hacking

A journalist previously convicted for phone hacking has told a court executives at Mirror Group Newspapers were aware of "the widespread organised crime and involved in its cover-up".

Graham Johnson told a civil trial into alleged phone hacking of Prince Harry and others how an editor asked him to bug actress Denise Welch's hotel room.

He also described buying police reports on footballer Wayne Rooney.

MGN deny senior bosses knew about the practices and failed to stop them.

It is alleged that journalists from the Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror and The People 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 Johnson, who worked as investigations editor for the Sunday Mirror between 1999 and 2005, told the High Court on the trial's sixth day that he became disillusioned at the phone hacking and bugging he was asked to do by editors.

He claimed he was told by his paper's deputy editor Mark Thomas to plant a bug while working on a story in 2001 about Denise Welch, the ex-Coronation Street actress and Loose Women panellist.

"I knew that bugging a room was a serious criminal offence and that's why I walked off the job. It's in a different league of criminality," he said.

In a written statement, he also claimed he was instructed by Mr Thomas, with the knowledge of then editor Tina Weaver, to "intercept the voicemails" of Ms Welch "because of a tip that she was in a relationship with an alleged underworld figure".

The journalist has accused a series of private investigators and photographers of using illegal bugging, phone hacking and blagging on the instructions of MGN editors and journalists.

Mr Johnson said in a written statement he was also involved in "buying sensitive police intelligence reports on targets such as Steven Gerrard and Wayne Rooney", while he said he was told of a "well-organised phone hacking conspiracy" at the Sunday Mirror, which saw the footballers Ronaldo and Rio Ferdinand targeted.

Mr Johnson pleaded guilty to phone hacking in 2014 after deciding to admit to his wrong-doing while working as a journalist. He then wrote a book about his career and began investigating unlawful information gathering by newspapers.

The court heard how Graham Johnson was asked to bug Denise Welch's hotel room


During cross-examination, Andrew Green KC, representing MGN, questioned Mr Johnson about a series of payments he later made to obtain evidence about wrong-doing by newspapers.

The court heard he signed a £16,000 contract with a private investigator Christine Hart, who specialised in obtaining the medical records of well-known people. She was in "dire financial straits", according to her witness statement.

The contract was for her to provide invoices proving newspapers paid for her services. But it was torn up and the money was never paid. However, some of the invoices were handed over by Ms Hart, the court was told.

Mr Johnson was challenged by Mr Green that "paying people who are vulnerable or in financial need to provide documents showing unlawful activity" could create "a real danger the material you receive will be unreliable."

Mr Johnson responded: "You can also find independent corroborative sources to stand up what these invoices are about. The reliability of the invoices is not related to the payments."

When asked by Mr Green KC if he was coming before the court as an objective and independent witness.

He replied: "I think the answer is no. I'm not objective and independent in as much as I think it's wrong for there to be organised crime at your newspaper and other newspapers.

"I write stories about it and I'm very happy to help victims of organised crime at Mirror Group."

Mirror Group Newspapers has admitted printing stories based on phone hacking and "blagging".

The current case is to decide how widespread unlawful activity was, and whether senior executives knew. The company says they did not and therefore could not have taken action to stop it.

If MGN loses the case, its parent company Reach PLC could face millions of pounds in damages claims from hundreds of alleged victims.

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

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
UK and Vietnam Sign Landmark Migration Deal to Fast-Track Returns of Irregular Arrivals
UK Drug-Pricing Overhaul Essential for Life-Sciences Ambition, Says GSK Chief
Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie Temporarily Leave the UK Amid Their Parents’ Royal Fallout
UK Weighs Early End to Oil and Gas Windfall Tax as Reeves Seeks Investment Commitments
UK Retail Inflation Slows as Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since Spring
Next Raises Full-Year Profit Guidance After Strong Third-Quarter Performance
Reform UK’s Lee Anderson Admits to 'Gaming' Benefits System While Advocating Crackdown
United States and South Korea Conclude Major Trade Accord Worth $350 Billion
Hurricane Melissa Strikes Cuba After Devastating Jamaica With Record Winds
Vice President Vance to Headline Turning Point USA Campus Event at Ole Miss
U.S. Targets Maritime Narco-Routes While Border Pressure to Mexico Remains Limited
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?
×