(MENAFN) Prince Harry has achieved a significant legal victory in his phone-hacking case against Mirror Group Newspapers, with a judge determining that the publisher unlawfully obtained information from his mobile phone. The High Court Judge, Timothy Fancourt, delivered the verdict on Friday, highlighting the "extensive" phone hacking conducted by Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN) between 2006 and 2011 to gather information for articles on the royal figure. As a result, Prince Harry was awarded EUR140,600 (USD178,780) in damages.
Judge Fancourt asserted that MGN's use of private investigators to unlawfully acquire information was an "integral part" of their tactics, emphasizing that former Daily Mirror editor and TV host Piers Morgan, along with other editors and lawyers at MGN, were aware that their investigators were breaking the law. While the court found merit in Harry's claim that 33 articles about him in the Daily Mirror, the Sunday Mirror, and Sunday People were compiled using hacked information, Judge Fancourt noted that this could only be "proved in part." He specifically identified 15 articles as the product of illegal surveillance.
Prince Harry testified before the court in June, becoming the first British royal to do so in over 130 years. During his testimony, he revealed the detrimental impact of the articles on his personal life, citing the strain on his relationship with former girlfriend Chelsea Davy, the damage to his relationship with his brother, Prince William, and the disclosure of private details about his military service and drug use.
In response to the court's decision, Prince Harry, in a statement read by his lawyer, expressed satisfaction, declaring that "today is a great day for truth, as well as accountability." The legal triumph sheds light on the broader issue of privacy rights and media ethics, prompting discussions about the consequences for media outlets engaging in illegal practices to gather information about public figures.
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