London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Sep 18, 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
Macron and his wife to provide 'scientific photographic evidence' that she is a real woman
US Tech Giants Pledge Billions to UK AI Infrastructure Following Starmer's Call
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
DeepMind and OpenAI Achieve Gold at ‘Coding Olympics’ in AI Milestone
SEC Allows Public Companies to Block Investors from Class-Action Lawsuits
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Federal Reserve Cuts Rates by Quarter Point and Signals More to Come
Effective and Impressive Generation Z Protest: Images from the Riots in Nepal
European manufacturers against ban on polluting cars: "The industry may collapse"
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Trump: Cancel quarterly company reports and settle for reporting once every six months
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
US Launches New Pilot Program to Accelerate eVTOL Air Taxi Deployment
Christian Brueckner Released from German Prison after Serving Unrelated Sentence
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Hong Kong Industry Group Calls for HK$20 Billion Support Fund to Ease Property Market Stress
Joe Biden’s Post-Presidency Speaking Fees Face Weak Demand amid Corporate Reluctance
Charlie Kirk's murder will break the left's hateful cancel tactics
Kash Patel erupts at ‘buffoon’ Sen. Adam Schiff over Russiagate: ‘You are the biggest fraud’
Homeland Security says Emmy speech ‘fanning the flames of hatred’ after Einbinder’s ‘F— ICE’ remark
Charlie Kirk’s Alleged Assassin Tyler Robinson Faces Death Penalty as Charges Formally Announced
Actor, director, environmentalist Robert Redford dies at 89
The conservative right spreads westward: a huge achievement for 'Alternative for Germany' in local elections
JD Vance Says There Is “No Unity” with Those Who Celebrate Charlie Kirk’s Killing, and he is right!
Trump sues the 'New York Times' for an astronomical sum of 15 billion dollars
Florida Hospital Welcomes Its Largest-Ever Baby: Annan, Nearly Fourteen Pounds at Birth
U.S. and Britain Poised to Finalize Over $10 Billion in High-Tech, Nuclear and Defense Deals During Trump State Visit
China Finds Nvidia Violated Antitrust Laws in Mellanox Deal, Deepens Trade Tensions with US
US Air Force Begins Modifications on Qatar-Donated Jet Amid Plans to Use It as Air Force One
Pope Leo Warns of Societal Crisis Over Mega-CEO Pay, Citing Tesla’s Proposed Trillion-Dollar Package
Poland Green-Lights NATO Deployment in Response to Major Russian Drone Incursion
Elon Musk Retakes Lead as World’s Richest After Brief Ellison Surge
U.S. and China Agree on Framework to Shift TikTok to American Ownership
London Daily Podcast: London Massive Pro Democracy Rally, Musk Support, UK Economic Data and Premier League Results Mark Eventful Weekend
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Le Pen Tightens the Pressure on Macron as France Edges Toward Political Breakdown
Musk calls for new UK government at huge pro-democracy rally in London, but Britons have been brainwashed to obey instead of fighting for their human rights
Elon Musk responds to post calling for the murder of Erika Kirk, widow of Charlie Kirk: 'Either we fight back or they will kill us'
Czech Republic signs €1.34 billion contract for Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks with delivery from 2028
USA: Office Depot Employees Refused to Print Poster in Memory of Charlie Kirk – and Were Fired
Proposed U.S. Bill Would Allow Civil Suits Against Judges Who Release Repeat Violent Offenders
Penske Media Sues Google Over “AI Overviews,” Claiming It Uses Journalism Without Consent and Destroys Traffic
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
French Debt Downgrade Piles Pressure on Macron’s New Prime Minister
US and UK Near Tech, Nuclear and Whisky Deals Ahead of Trump Trip
One in Three Europeans Now Uses TikTok, According to the Chinese Tech Giant
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
NATO Deploys ‘Eastern Sentry’ After Russian Drones Violate Polish Airspace
Anesthesiologist Left Operation Mid-Surgery to Have Sex with Nurse
×