Mirror publisher to settle hacking claim brought by Prince Harry

Prince Harry and the publisher of the Daily Mirror newspaper have settled the remainder of his hacking claim against them.

It follows a High Court judge’s ruling in December that phone hacking by Mirror Group Newspapers was carried out from 1996 to 2011, and was “widespread and habitual” from 1998.

“Everything we said was happening at Mirror Group was in fact happening, and indeed far worse as the court ruled in its extremely damning judgment,” Prince Harry’s lawyer David Sherborne said outside court.

Judge Timothy Fancourt said that phone hacking continued “to some extent” during the Leveson Inquiry into media standards in 2011 and 2012, and concluded that Harry’s phone was hacked “to a modest extent” by MGN.

The publisher will pay “a substantial additional sum” by way of damages, around £400,000 (€468,000) as well as the duke’s legal costs, on top of the £140,600 (€165,000) previously awarded.

“As the court said this morning we have uncovered and proved the shockingly dishonest way in which the Mirror acted for so many years and then sought to conceal the truth. In light of all this, we call again for the authorities to uphold the rule of law and to prove that no one is above it,” lawyer David Sherborne said.

He singled out former Mirror editor Piers Morgan, adding: “That includes Mr Morgan, who as editor, knew perfectly well what was going on, as the Judge held.

“Even his own employer realised it simply could not call him as a witness of truth. His contempt for the court’s ruling and his continued attacks ever since demonstrate why it was so important to obtain a clear and detailed judgment.”

Harry’s case against the publisher was “proved in part” during a privacy trial last year, with 15 of the 33 articles presented in court found to be the product of phone hacking or other unlawful information gathering.

However, a further 115 articles in his claim could have led to a further trial had a settlement not been reached.

Harry’s case was heard alongside similar claims brought by actor Michael Turner, known professionally as Michael Le Vell, and former Coronation Street actress Nikki Sanderson, and Fiona Wightman, the ex-wife of comedian Paul Whitehouse.

The final figure of costs is yet to be assessed, but the High Court in London heard the group of people who sued the publisher were currently seeking payment of around £1.9 million from MGN towards the legal costs of bringing those allegations to court.