Prince Harry's phone was hacked by Mirror Group Newspapers, a High Court judge has ruled following a trial.
The Duke of Sussex has been awarded £140,600 ($180,000) after bringing the claim against the tabloid newspaper publisher at the High Court.
The prince, 39, who gave evidence to the court during the trial, sued MGN for damages, claiming journalists at its titles – the Daily and Sunday Mirror, and Sunday People – were linked to methods including phone hacking, so-called blagging or gaining information by deception, and the use of private investigators for unlawful activities.
Mr Justice Fancourt concluded there was “extensive” phone hacking generally by MGN from 2006 to 2011, “even to some extent” during the Leveson Inquiry into media standards.
The judge also ruled that the duke’s phone was probably hacked “to a modest extent” by the publisher.
In a summary of his ruling, he said he found that 15 out of the 33 articles that were tried were the product of phone hacking of Prince Harry's mobile phone or the mobile phones of his associates, or the product of other unlawful information-gathering.
“I consider that his phone was only hacked to a modest extent and that this was probably carefully controlled by certain people at each newspaper,” he said.
“There was a tendency for the duke in his evidence to assume that everything published was the product of voice mail interception because phone hacking was rife within Mirror Group at the time.
“But phone hacking was not the only journalistic tool at the time and his claims in relation to the other 18 articles did not stand up to careful analysis.”
He added: “I recognise that Mirror Group was not responsible for all the unlawful activity that was directed at the duke, and that a good deal of the oppressive behaviour of the press towards the duke over the years was not unlawful at all.
“Mirror Group therefore only played a small part in everything that the duke suffered and the award of damages on this ground is therefore modest.”
Reading a statement on the Duke of Sussex’s behalf outside the High Court, his lawyer David Sherborne said: “Today is a great day for truth, as well as accountability.”
In a statement, MGN said: “Where historical wrongdoing took place, we apologise unreservedly, have taken full responsibility and paid appropriate compensation.”
Piers Morgan named in court
Mr Justice Fancourt ruled that he accepted the evidence of biographer Omid Scobie, who told the High Court that then-Daily Mirror editor Piers Morgan was told about the use of phone hacking.
During the trial earlier this year, the court was told that Scobie did work experience at the Daily Mirror in spring 2002 and overheard Morgan being told that information relating to singer Kylie Minogue and her then-boyfriend James Gooding had come from voicemails.
After the judgment, Morgan insisted he had “zero knowledge” of the single article published in his time as editor of the Daily Mirror that may have involved illegal information gathering.
He described those giving evidence in the Duke of Sussex’s High Court case as “old foes of mine with an axe to grind”.
The prince's case was heard alongside similar claims brought by actor Michael Turner, who is known professionally as Michael Le Vell and is most famous for playing Kevin Webster in Coronation Street, actress Nikki Sanderson and Fiona Wightman, the former wife of comedian Paul Whitehouse.
The allegations in their claims about unlawful activity at MGN’s titles covered a period from as early as 1991 until 2011, the court was previously told.
Delivering his verdict and awarding £140,600 on Friday, Mr Justice Fancourt said: “I have also awarded a sum for aggravated damages, to reflect the particular hurt and sense of outrage that the duke feels because two directors of Trinity Mirror plc, to whom the board had delegated day-to-day responsibility for such matters, knew about the illegal activity that was going on at their newspapers and could and should have put a stop to it.
“Instead of doing so, they turned a blind eye to what was going on and positively concealed it. Had the illegal conduct been stopped, the misuse of the duke’s private information would have ended much sooner.
The high-profile trial ended in June after seven weeks of evidence from dozens of witnesses, including former journalists, editors, private investigators and MGN executives.
Many other witnesses also submitted written evidence, such as the friends, family and colleagues of those bringing cases against the publisher.
Prince Harry faced eight hours of questioning over two days during a witness box appearance that drew the attention of the world’s media.
MGN largely contested the claims and denied that any of the newspaper articles in question had resulted from phone hacking, while contending the vast majority did not arise from any other unlawful activity.
The publisher made a limited number of admissions of unlawful activity in relation to the duke, Sanderson and Ms Wightman, for which the publisher apologised and accepted they will be entitled to some damages, but denied the majority of their claims and Turner’s entire case.
RIVER%20SPIRIT
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EAuthor%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ELeila%20Aboulela%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EPublisher%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Saqi%20Books%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EPages%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20320%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EAvailable%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Now%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The candidates
Dr Ayham Ammora, scientist and business executive
Ali Azeem, business leader
Tony Booth, professor of education
Lord Browne, former BP chief executive
Dr Mohamed El-Erian, economist
Professor Wyn Evans, astrophysicist
Dr Mark Mann, scientist
Gina MIller, anti-Brexit campaigner
Lord Smith, former Cabinet minister
Sandi Toksvig, broadcaster
The specs: 2018 Volkswagen Teramont
Price, base / as tested Dh137,000 / Dh189,950
Engine 3.6-litre V6
Gearbox Eight-speed automatic
Power 280hp @ 6,200rpm
Torque 360Nm @ 2,750rpm
Fuel economy, combined 11.7L / 100km
Prop idols
Girls full-contact rugby may be in its infancy in the Middle East, but there are already a number of role models for players to look up to.
Sophie Shams (Dubai Exiles mini, England sevens international)
An Emirati student who is blazing a trail in rugby. She first learnt the game at Dubai Exiles and captained her JESS Primary school team. After going to study geophysics at university in the UK, she scored a sensational try in a cup final at Twickenham. She has played for England sevens, and is now contracted to top Premiership club Saracens.
----
Seren Gough-Walters (Sharjah Wanderers mini, Wales rugby league international)
Few players anywhere will have taken a more circuitous route to playing rugby on Sky Sports. Gough-Walters was born in Al Wasl Hospital in Dubai, raised in Sharjah, did not take up rugby seriously till she was 15, has a master’s in global governance and ethics, and once worked as an immigration officer at the British Embassy in Abu Dhabi. In the summer of 2021 she played for Wales against England in rugby league, in a match that was broadcast live on TV.
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Erin King (Dubai Hurricanes mini, Ireland sevens international)
Aged five, Australia-born King went to Dubai Hurricanes training at The Sevens with her brothers. She immediately struck up a deep affection for rugby. She returned to the city at the end of last year to play at the Dubai Rugby Sevens in the colours of Ireland in the Women’s World Series tournament on Pitch 1.
Name: Peter Dicce
Title: Assistant dean of students and director of athletics
Favourite sport: soccer
Favourite team: Bayern Munich
Favourite player: Franz Beckenbauer
Favourite activity in Abu Dhabi: scuba diving in the Northern Emirates
Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The%20specs
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2.3-litre%20turbo%204-cyl%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E10-speed%20auto%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E298hp%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E452Nm%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETowing%20capacity%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E3.4-tonne%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPayload%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E4WD%20%E2%80%93%20776kg%3B%20Rear-wheel%20drive%20819kg%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EPrice%3A%20Dh138%2C945%20(XLT)%20Dh193%2C095%20(Wildtrak)%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EDelivery%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20from%20August%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Tips to keep your car cool
- Place a sun reflector in your windshield when not driving
- Park in shaded or covered areas
- Add tint to windows
- Wrap your car to change the exterior colour
- Pick light interiors - choose colours such as beige and cream for seats and dashboard furniture
- Avoid leather interiors as these absorb more heat
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Super 30
Produced: Sajid Nadiadwala and Phantom Productions
Directed: Vikas Bahl
Cast: Hrithik Roshan, Pankaj Tripathi, Aditya Srivastav, Mrinal Thakur
Rating: 3.5 /5
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
HOSTS
T20 WORLD CUP
2024: US and West Indies; 2026: India and Sri Lanka; 2028: Australia and New Zealand; 2030: England, Ireland and Scotland
ODI WORLD CUP
2027: South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia; 2031: India and
Bangladesh
CHAMPIONS TROPHY
2025: Pakistan; 2029: India
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
Napoleon
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3A%20Ridley%20Scott%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3A%20Joaquin%20Phoenix%2C%20Vanessa%20Kirby%2C%20Tahar%20Rahim%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3A%202%2F5%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs: 2018 Jeep Compass
Price, base: Dh100,000 (estimate)
Engine: 2.4L four-cylinder
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Power: 184bhp at 6,400rpm
Torque: 237Nm at 3,900rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 9.4L / 100km
More from Aya Iskandarani
TERMINAL HIGH ALTITUDE AREA DEFENCE (THAAD)
What is THAAD?
It is considered to be the US's most superior missile defence system.
Production:
It was created in 2008.
Speed:
THAAD missiles can travel at over Mach 8, so fast that it is hypersonic.
Abilities:
THAAD is designed to take out ballistic missiles as they are on their downward trajectory towards their target, otherwise known as the "terminal phase".
Purpose:
To protect high-value strategic sites, such as airfields or population centres.
Range:
THAAD can target projectiles inside and outside the Earth's atmosphere, at an altitude of 150 kilometres above the Earth's surface.
Creators:
Lockheed Martin was originally granted the contract to develop the system in 1992. Defence company Raytheon sub-contracts to develop other major parts of the system, such as ground-based radar.
UAE and THAAD:
In 2011, the UAE became the first country outside of the US to buy two THAAD missile defence systems. It then stationed them in 2016, becoming the first Gulf country to do so.
2017%20RESULTS%3A%20FRENCH%20VOTERS%20IN%20UK
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SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20NOTHING%20PHONE%20(2)
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How%20I%20connect%20with%20my%20kids%20when%20working%20or%20travelling
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THE SPECS
Engine: AMG-enhanced 3.0L inline-6 turbo with EQ Boost and electric auxiliary compressor
Transmission: nine-speed automatic
Power: 429hp
Torque: 520Nm
Price: Dh360,200 (starting)
How to turn your property into a holiday home
- Ensure decoration and styling – and portal photography – quality is high to achieve maximum rates.
- Research equivalent Airbnb homes in your location to ensure competitiveness.
- Post on all relevant platforms to reach the widest audience; whether you let personally or via an agency know your potential guest profile – aiming for the wrong demographic may leave your property empty.
- Factor in costs when working out if holiday letting is beneficial. The annual DCTM fee runs from Dh370 for a one-bedroom flat to Dh1,200. Tourism tax is Dh10-15 per bedroom, per night.
- Check your management company has a physical office, a valid DTCM licence and is licencing your property and paying tourism taxes. For transparency, regularly view your booking calendar.
