In December, Prince Harry won his phone-hacking lawsuit against the Mirror Group. Because of the size and scope of the hacking claims, the judge wanted to do everything piecemeal, so Harry’s case was broken up into sections, given how many times he was hacked. He won one section, and in January, he promised to bring further action and testify again if the Mirror didn’t settle the rest of his claims. That promise must have scared the sh-t out of the Mirror and their lawyers, because in less than two weeks, they settled with Harry.
The Duke of Sussex has settled the remaining parts of his phone-hacking claim against the publisher of the Daily Mirror, the high court has heard.
Prince Harry, 39, sued Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN) for damages, claiming journalists at its publications were linked to methods including phone hacking, “blagging” – gaining information by deception – and use of private investigators for unlawful activities.
In December, a judge ruled that phone hacking became “widespread and habitual” at MGN titles in the late 1990s and was practised “even to some extent” during the Leveson inquiry into press standards in 2011.
Mr Justice Fancourt concluded Harry’s phone was hacked “to a modest extent” by MGN, awarding him £140,600 in damages.
Thirty-three articles from Harry’s claim were examined during the trial last year, of which 15 were found to have been the product of unlawful information gathering. A further 115 articles from his claim may have been the subject of a further trial. However, during a hearing in London on Friday, his barrister, David Sherborne, confirmed a settlement had been reached between the duke and MGN. He said the publisher would make an interim payment of £400,000.
A MGN spokesperson said: “We are pleased to have reached this agreement, which gives our business further clarity to move forward from events that took place many years ago and for which we have apologised.”
The “£400,000” figure is about to be touted far and wide, as if that’s the extent of the settlement. All of the reporting is making it clear that the figure is an “interim payment” though. Think of it as a down payment. The Mirror is putting their settlement on layaway. I would not be surprised if Harry refused to settle for anything less than £1 million, possibly even more than that give the scope of the Mirror’s criminal behavior. Anyway, well done to Harry. What a win! Now he’s got a million other lawsuits.
Harry’s statement is SO GOOD!!
BREAKING: Prince Harry’s statement in full #DukeofSussexvMGN pic.twitter.com/rNQWPqqrJk
— Byline Investigates (@BInvestigates) February 9, 2024
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.
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- Prince Harry departs The Royal Courts Of Justice in London, England, UK on Tuesday 28 March, 2023. He is part of a group suing the Associated Newspapers Ltd (ANL) in the High Court over phone hacking allegations.,Image: 765696114, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: Please credit photographer and agency when publishing as Justin Ng/UPPA/Avalon., Model Release: no, Credit line: Justin Ng / Avalon
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- Prince Harry departs The Royal Courts Of Justice in London, England, UK on Tuesday 28 March, 2023. He is part of a group suing the Associated Newspapers Ltd (ANL) in the High Court over phone hacking allegations.,Image: 765696140, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: Please credit photographer and agency when publishing as Justin Ng/UPPA/Avalon., Model Release: no, Credit line: Justin Ng / Avalon
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- Prince Harry arrives at The Royal Courts Of Justice in London, England, UK on Thursday 30 March, 2023. He is part of a group suing the Associated Newspapers Ltd (ANL) in the High Court over phone hacking allegations.,Image: 766139790, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: Please credit photographer and agency when publishing as Justin Ng/UPPA/Avalon., Model Release: no, Credit line: Justin Ng / Avalon
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Royal Courts of Justice, London, UK. 6th June 2023.
Prince Harry arriving at the Royal Courts of Justice, ahead of his lawsuit against The Mirror Group.
The Duke of Sussex is suing Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN) for damages over alleged unlawful information gathering, including phone hacking and will be the first senior British royal to give evidence in court for 130 years.,Image: 781717892, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: Supplied by AVALON – Fee Payable Upon Reproduction – For queries contact Avalon – [email protected] London: 44 (0) 20 7421 6000 Los Angeles: 1 (310) 822 0419 Madrid: 34 91 533 4289, Model Release: no, Credit line: Photo by Amanda Rose / Avalon
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- Prince Harry The Duke Of Sussex departs The Rolls Building – Royal Courts Of Justice in London, England, UK on Wednesday 7 June, 2023 as part of the Mirror Group newspapers (MGN) phone hacking trial.,Image: 782000590, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: Please credit photographer and agency when publishing as Justin Ng/UPPA/Avalon., Model Release: no, Credit line: Justin Ng / Avalon
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- Prince Harry The Duke Of Sussex departs The Rolls Building – Royal Courts Of Justice in London, England, UK on Wednesday 7 June, 2023 as part of the Mirror Group newspapers (MGN) phone hacking trial.,Image: 782000606, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: Please credit photographer and agency when publishing as Justin Ng/UPPA/Avalon., Model Release: no, Credit line: Justin Ng / Avalon
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- Prince Harry The Duke Of Sussex departs The Rolls Building – Royal Courts Of Justice in London, England, UK on Wednesday 7 June, 2023 as part of the Mirror Group newspapers (MGN) phone hacking trial.,Image: 782000612, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: Please credit photographer and agency when publishing as Justin Ng/UPPA/Avalon., Model Release: no, Credit line: Justin Ng / Avalon
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- Prince Harry The Duke Of Sussex departs The Rolls Building – Royal Courts Of Justice in London, England, UK on Wednesday 7 June, 2023 as part of the Mirror Group newspapers (MGN) phone hacking trial.,Image: 782000626, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: Please credit photographer and agency when publishing as Justin Ng/UPPA/Avalon., Model Release: no, Credit line: Justin Ng / Avalon
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Royal Courts of Justice, London, UK. 7th June 2023.
Prince Harry leaving the Royal Courts of Justice, with his lawyer, David Sherborne, following his second day giving testimony in the witness stand.
The Duke of Sussex is suing Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN) for damages over alleged unlawful information gathering, including phone hacking and is the first senior British royal to give evidence in court for 130 years.,Image: 782000910, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: Supplied by AVALON – Fee Payable Upon Reproduction – For queries contact Avalon – [email protected] London: 44 (0) 20 7421 6000 Los Angeles: 1 (310) 822 0419 Madrid: 34 91 533 4289, Model Release: no, Credit line: Photo by Amanda Rose / Avalon
