LONDON: The publisher of a British tabloid has apologised to Prince Harry for unlawfully seeking information about him at the start of a lawsuit the royal is bringing over alleged phone-hacking in which he is due to give evidence himself.

Harry, 38, and some 100 celebrities including actors, sports stars, singers and TV personalities, are suing publisher Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN), accusing its titles of habitually accessing private information by widespread phone-hacking, deception and other illicit means between 1991 and 2011.

The claimants say the unlawful behaviour at the Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror and Sunday People had occurred with the full knowledge of senior editors and top executives who they say knew about it, approved it and actively covered it up.

The titles are owned by Reach.

MGN is contesting the allegations, arguing some claims have been brought too late, and rejecting most others such as saying there was no evidence Harry was a victim of hacking. It denies any senior figures had knowledge of unlawful acts.

However, in documents to the High Court in London, MGN did admit on one occasion a private investigator had been engaged to unlawfully gather evidence about him at a London nightclub in 2004, saying it “unreservedly apologises and accepts that (Harry) is entitled to appropriate compensation”.

Harry, who was not present for the start of the hearing, has been selected as one of four test cases for the seven-week trial and is due to give evidence himself in person in early June, the first British royal to do so since the 19th century, according to local media.

“Prince or not, the blatantly unlawful and illegal methods that were used by the defendant to get every piece of information about his life away from royal duties was quite frankly appalling,” David Sherborne, the lawyer representing Harry and the other claimants, told the court on Wednesday.

“No one should have been subjected to that.” He said the unlawful actions had taken place on an “industrial scale”, saying MGN had spent millions on private investigators.

Coronation

The trial begins just days after his father’s coronation on Saturday where Harry appeared only briefly for the ceremony at London’s Westminster Abbey and played no formal role. He is believed to have returned immediately to California where his son Prince Archie was celebrating his fourth birthday.

The Mirror case is just one of four that Harry is currently pursuing against newspapers, saying it was his duty to expose “criminality” committed by the tabloids on behalf of those without the same resources as he has.

In March, he attended court in person to hear lawyers for Associated, which publishes the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday, seek to throw out a case brought by him and other high-profile figures including singer Elton John.

He is also pursuing a phone-hacking case against Rupert Murdoch’s News Group Newspapers (NGN) and is also suing Associated for libel, with a decision on whether he can win that case without a trial also expected presently. All the publishers have promised to rigorously fight the claims.

Published in Dawn, May 11th, 2023

Opinion

Editorial

Left behind
Updated 14 Jan, 2025

Left behind

Pakistan’s education statistics threaten to leave us behind in the global knowledge economy.
Mining tragedies
14 Jan, 2025

Mining tragedies

TWO recent deadly mining tragedies in Balochistan have once again exposed the hazardous nature of work in this...
Winter sports
14 Jan, 2025

Winter sports

FOR a country with huge winter sports potential, events in Pakistan are few and far between. Therefore, the start of...
Anything goes
Updated 13 Jan, 2025

Anything goes

With social media companies abandoning moderation efforts, dark days of freewheeling internet have seemingly returned.
Odious trade
13 Jan, 2025

Odious trade

WHEN home feels like a sinking ship, people are forced to make ill-fated journeys for a better life. Last month,...
Treasure of the Indus
13 Jan, 2025

Treasure of the Indus

THE Indus dolphin, or bulhan as it is known locally, is a remarkable species found only in the Indus River. Unlike...