The High Court in London has ruled in favor of Prince Harry in his hacking case against the Mirror Group, the media company which owns the Daily Mirror and Sunday Mirror. The judge ruled that Harry proved several parts of his case – 15 out of 33 articles related to hacking or unlawful methods of newsgathering. The Mirror Group had asked for Harry to be awarded £500, while Harry was asking for an award of £440,000. The judge awarded Harry £140,600.
Britain’s High Court ruled that Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, was the victim of phone hacking by Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN), publisher of the Daily Mirror tabloid, on Friday. He has been awarded 140,600 pounds, which is about $180,000 in damages.
The presiding judge in the case at Britain’s High Court, Justice Timothy Fancourt, said in a statement that he had awarded Harry the “modest” sum, as the case had shown the Mirror Group “only played a small part in everything that the Duke suffered” and “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.”
The judge said he’d found that only 15 out of the 33 articles that were scrutinized in the case were the product of phone hacking or other illegal 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,” Fancourt said. “There was a tendency for the Duke in his evidence to assume that everything published was the product of voicemail 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 said he’d determined the award for the prince “in respect of each of the articles and invoices where unlawful information gathering was proved” and “to compensate the Duke fully for the distress that he suffered as a result of the unlawful activity directed at him and those close to him.”
In a statement read by his lawyer after the judgement, Mr Sherborne quotes Harry as saying that since the claim was brought: “Defamatory stories and intimidating tactics have been deployed against me and at my family’s expense.”
The prince wrote he has learnt patience is a virtue “in the face of vendetta journalism”.
“I am happy to have won the case, especially as this trial only looked at a quarter of my entire claim.”
“I respectfully call on the authorities, financial regulator, police to do their duty and investigate bringing charges against Daily Mirror Group,” Harry said in his statement. “Today’s ruling is vindicating and affirming. I have been told that slaying dragons will get you burned, but in light of today’s victory and the importance of doing what is needed for a free and honest press, it is a worthwhile price to pay.”
“There was a tendency for the Duke in his evidence to assume that everything published was the product of voicemail interception because phone hacking was rife within Mirror Group at the time. But phone hacking was not the only journalistic tool at the time…” I mean, tabloid journalists were also stalking and harassing people, bribing people, hacking into email accounts, breaking into doctor’s offices and private homes and more. Sure, it wasn’t all “hacking” in Harry’s case – some of it was leaking from his father’s office as well. Harry’s statement is great – and I hope that this changes the view of years of hacking – this was criminal behavior. So much said in that simple statement. Anyway, I’m very proud of Harry. I thought everything was being lined up for a defeat for Haz.
"The court has found that Mirror group's principal board directors, their legal department, senior executives and editors, such as Piers Morgan, clearly knew about or were involved in these illegal activities.”pic.twitter.com/0FOpXJL74v
— Omid Scobie (@scobie) December 15, 2023
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.
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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: 782000576, 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: 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 – sales@avalon.red 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
Good result. Congrats Harry.
It’s a moral victory, but I don’t think the judgement is big enough to deter the Mirror in the future. They should have paid to pay a lot more IMHO.
Huh? It’s a moral victory and a legal one. It was never about the money for Harry. But it is very much a legal victory, 15 out of 33 instances is no small thing. Proving that specific people lied during the levenson inquiry is no small thing. Let’s not let the BM move the goal posts.
@Jais I don’t think Megan is moving the goalposts for the British media at all. She’s clearly pointing out the obvious: that the judgment, while a legal and moral victory & vindication, is too low to affect any change in how the British media does business. The family low financial penalty is peanuts compared to what they make from stories they sell based on these activities so the media sees that as a very low cost of doing business
Yeah, I wish they had had to pay enough that it actually made the group think twice before doing this kind of thing. Didn’t gawker go bankrupt over a lawsuit? I feel like that’s what needed to happen here.
Let’s watch how the BM does report on it in the coming days. Not today but In the days after once they regroup. I’m just imagining them finding ways to diminish this victory. @megan is right in that no it might not change how the mirror does business in the future. I don’t know how that will shake out. But it will have huge ramifications in the fact that this ruling will help the future hacking cases that are coming forward against the mirror. All of which will affect their bottom line.
Costs will be awarded and that will consider the amount of time and money spent on bringing this case. He’s likely to get another 200,000 in costs.
Totally agree. That sum is peanuts and does not put a dent in the pockets of the tabloids. This is why they do what they do. Besides, didn’t they pay out a million to Wills? SMDH
The Mirror is being held to account its crimes which was Harry’s main objective not the money. Plus, the Mirror has already paid out millions and is settling other cases on an ongoing basis. Harry got the court to find the Mirror guilty of hacking his phone. This is a significant victory.
@AmyBee exactly. this is a significant victory – of course the tabloids will try to spin it otherwise, but that doesnt change what it is.
The judge didn’t say that the Mirror group hacked his phone ONLY these 15 times, the judge said that it’s just not definite that they hacked it the other times. Meaning, there were other ways to get the information (tailing Harry, leaks from the palace or “friends,” etc). The Mirror group isn’t exonerated from hacking in those instances – its just not enough to find them liable (or whatever the british equivalent is) under the law.
BUT there is a line of victims going out the door and down the avenue who now have standing to sue. So… I’d say the Mirror’s goose is cooked. All it takes is one class action…
@Jais … this is an easy spin for them. HARRY LOSES 18 INSTANCES IN LAWSUIT. The focus will be on what wasn’t proven/awarded and totally ignore the 15 instances that was proven. Sadly, their sychophants will eat it up. Then back to business as usual.
Even if the award is small, he may seek reimbursement for legal fees. Settlement + Harry’s legal fees + their own legal fees is much more $$.
@Megan you are right, the amount that Harry won is peanuts compared to what he deserves and those toxic journalists will definitely try to make it look as if the paper is the actual winner. Piers Morgan is already trying to spin this story (someone please drag him on Twitter he so deserves a good dragging!) However, because this was a legal victory in the courts, it will set a precedent for future wins not just for Harry, but for anyone who is fighting against these evil people for what they do everyday.
I mean of course they’re going to find ways to diminish this victory for their readers. That’s their thing and what they’ll do. But in truth, it’s a massive legal victory, not just a moral one. @1960tim’s last sentence in the above post is 💯, regardless of the BM spin which will continue in any day ending in Y.
I believe there was also a pain and suffering award that is not mentioned.
He doesn’t have to seek legal fees, it’s automatic, the losing side pays the legal fees.
It’s a victory, legally and morally. Harry hasn’t taken this on for the money. It’s a win. Whether by a field goal or 40 something points. The next cases will be more challenging.imo Not because of evidence-but $$$$$$$$$.
Love the statements put out by the legal team/Harry.
In the Uk costs are automatically awarded to the side that wins the case, although there will have to be costs submissions to determine the amount, unless both sides come to a mutual agreement. This is not the only money Harry will be getting.
Meghan got significant legal fees for her action too, but the media made sure not to report it.
I suspect the judge fixed on a sum that he thought wouldn’t get appealed and wouldn’t get overturned on appeal.
Piers Morgan being jailed for perjury would be a deterrent. Also, there’s further trouble brewing. Byline Times has the details.
CONGRATS HARRY 🥂 THE REST OF THE STORIES CAME FROM THE FAMILY ✔
Hazzah! 🎉😊
So happy for Harry!!! Now let’s see what happens. Will the crap continue? Will there be more attempts to unalive Harry? How will the BM and cult spin this to try to make themselves the victims? I predict a long and bumpy road. Oh and nice try visiting the courts yesterday Chuckles.
chucky, the steeenking piece of TURD hauled his arse to the courts yesterday in response to the cattle-prod up his wrinkled arse by his master, the shidtmedia’s pauldacre. It was chucky’s absolutely impotent attempt to say: see, master, I did ur bidding; I did my part to influence the court so now its out of my hands.
I can’t tell u how much I want to spit in that crowbait’s face (i:e chucky)
I thought about Charles visiting yesterday. And then it went through my head. What if Charles wanted them to find for Harry. The press has been pushing Charles and the others a lot lately. And what if this was one way for him to get back at them. Plus this damages people believing the tabloids. So if something comes out about Charles in the near future will people believe it. Or will the tabloids even cover it. I honestly don’t think Charles is that smart. But it did enter my thoughts.
The fix is in. So what else has Charles “fixed” to smooth his way? And whom?
Yay!!!! What a great holiday gift. Great work, Harry & your legal team.
Bravo Harry!!
Salt Island’s arteries might harden up for good over this news!
And the article named Piers Morgan! Yessss!
CBC news ran this and named Piers as well. Also, this news ran under the banner of World News. Usually, anything about royals that’s not a death or a coronation is under a banner called “The Royal Fascinator”, which is a mega -royalist bent but has been used less and less this year. I feel that indicates a shift in Canadian news coverage of the Royals and who is considered ‘royal’.
All over U.S. news too-husband just went to turn on his work computer and three different stories about it popped up. He knows I know follow royal gossip, and we both read Spare-solidly H&M team-so he came in and said “Great news! Harry won! See if it’s on that site you read everyday (meaning here-haha!)!” Sure, not a ton of money but I agree w/others, Harry wanted to make a point. And love that Piers got called out. Go have a nice sunny CA Xmas w/your real family Harry. Let that cult suck on lemons in their musty cold castle.
UN-be-f*ck-en-lieve-a-ble!
Congrats to Harry! And I hope all the other victims win the same or more so it bankrupts The Mirror!
I am so happy for him! Congratulations to his team and Harry!!!
Piers Morgan got a special mention in today’s ruling. https://twitter.com/misanharriman/status/1735636609339449489?t=uSXZJnADmZBhzt8qhaIK5A&s=19 I love the smell of karma in the morning. The Sussexes, especially Meghan, have been avenged and Piers may end up in the dock.
Piers is probably having a fit over this. Good
Over the past several years, Piers has been desperate for Harry to publicly acknowledge him. Well here you go Piers, hahahahha, Merry F-cking Christmas. You’ll need to take extra BP meds today! Omid’s testimony helping to pinpoint you is a delicious cherry on the cake.
You just said a word. Omid pinpointed Piers, and Piers was the one to blow up Omid’s (end)game by naming the RRs. Hmm…
This is exactly my thinking as well, ThatsNotOkay. PM’s actions since Endgame’s release are self-serving, in the extreme.
Essentially, a high court judge just ruled that omid scobie is credible while piers Morgan is an absolute liar.
Word, Jais.
YAY HARRY!!!! WE LOVE YOU AND SUPPORT ALL THAT YOU DO! KEEP UP THE GOOD FIGHT!
Congratulations Harry! Such a small amount though. Will the Mirror group at least have to pay Harry’s legal fees?
Let’s go Harry!!!!!!! That’s what I’m taking about. Justice warrior❤️
Duke of Justice❤️
Sussex success❤️
Wonder how Piers Morgan is feeling this morning….lying criminal that he is.
I am so glad he won!!! Wow! What a great statement from Harry, it shows that he isn’t just doing this for himself but to try to change journalism for the better – a wonderful legacy for his mother Diana. Happy Christmas indeed!
#MrJusticeMan indeed!!
Let justice be a stream….Amos 5:24.
I’m not sure if there’s a separate article planned for this so don’t want to threadjack, but I was certain that after shit-dad’s visit to “his” courts yesterday that Harry would lose. Seemed like an intimidation tactic toward the judge/courts. (Although maybe it still worked and that’s why only 15/33 articles were won? Were the ones that weren’t won more closely related to the royals?)
But anyway, I’m glad Harry won his case and I hope this paves the way for all the others with similar cases pending. Hopefully their cases are more clear cut and they win bigger settlements.
Harry, you’re a star. Well done! I hope he keeps suing and suing until all those papers are out of business.
I’m pretty sure the ruling was decided before that visit.
So his visit would have been all about messaging. So what message is it? That KC is watching?
Yeah that makes sense. Still a bad look though and makes it seem like shit-dad is willing/trying to interfere. Which? I’m sure he was, in some way, throughout the case.
Oh it was definitely about PR/optics/messaging. If he didnt want to give the appearance that he was interfering with the case, he should have stayed home.
But legally it probably did not have an impact *this* time.
The ruling may have been decided before C’s visit to the court. But it would be so easy for the court to adjust the $$ end of the award downwards to make a point.
15/33 is not even half of his claims winning. I worry this is the take the papers will take. We’re cheering ‘He Won’ and the take I suspect we’ll see from the papers is ‘We Won-not even 1/2 of H’s claims were upheld’ which will feed the haters egos and create more abusive articles.
Where can H get the other claims adjudicated? Can they be transferred to other lawsuits? It seems to me like the paper won more than H, which for me, is truly disappointing. Or did he win the Most Important Parts? I hope he won the Most Important Parts of his suit.
It was. The judgement confirms a draft was provided to the parties December 1.
The judgement states a draft version had been provided to the parties on December 1. So the decision had already been made before this visit. They just could not report on it.
I really hope that these cases will bring MGN and the Fail to their knees and like Torygraph will be looking at new buyers. I am very happy for Harry and for all of the victims, as this is a win for everyone who was subjected to phone hackings and other illegal practices.
Seriously though, the UK needs a Leveson Inquiry 2 and the press needs to be better regulated. Also, IPSO needs to better enforce rules and protect the public, so this needs overhaul too.
Sorry, I meant OfCom, not IPSO.
Obviously it would be a win for humanity if the Daily Mail folded but I feel very conflicted calling for bad things for the Mirror.
As bad as they can be, the Mirror are literally the newspaper that brought down Boris Johnson.
They are Labour’s only attack dog in the tabloid press and when newspapers lose money, they start to shed political and hard news before celebrity gossip.
Bryony Gordon has actually written a really good article on Harry and hacking for today’s Telegraph. Hope this links work. Strange to find it in that publication, but it’s not always wall to wall Tory hate. She has interviewed Harry before and has been very supportive of him (and William), having long suffered mental health issues of her own.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/royal-family/2023/12/15/prince-harry-phone-hacking-piers-morgan/
Loving this for the Mirror and Piss Morgan who denies everything OUTSIDE of court but didn’t dare appear in court to give evidence i.e lie under oath and risk a perjury charge. The royal sky reporter is already pushing back on this victory claiming that H can’t be a poster boy for privacy when he has disclosed private family moments himself. H is entitled to share as much or as little as anybody else of his life experiences in public but that give anyone else the right to SPY on him to illegally obtain information on his private life that he does NOT want to share.
And he hadn’t consented to his experiences being made public during those times. Everything he has written and spoken about in the past four years has been correcting what’s already in the public. There is an article or a book written by someone else telling some variation of everything he shares. So this has been a two-pronged fight ( at least). 1. You shouldn’t have shared my life, spied on me or lied about me. 2. Here’s what really happened.
Congratulations harry well done
Congrats Harry! Diana would be so proud of him!
Firstly, this is only one of the cases ruled on today. Secondly (and most importantly), the judgement says that senior executives knew about it and lied under oath at Levinson. The impacts of this judgement will be far reaching from personal fines and jail time, to impacts on the companies stock market prices. It’s much bigger than $180k
It had better be much bigger than $180,000 because that’s chump change to a large media company.
But Sunflower, wouldn’t that only be if police or the courts choose to investigate? Or is it automatic that the cases where they lied under oath would be reopened?
Amen! Warrior King is a good look for Harry…when he paints the enemy target, THEY’RE DONE. One of my favorite parts of Spare!
I hope you are right, but it was known before that they hacked and the police/courts didn’t pursue it. Maybe this will bring it to enough public/international attention that they will be embarrassed to not do something.
Woohoo!!! I am so excited to see this. I was becoming convinced the establishment was aligned against him (and it is, but at least the law still holds.)
I know you pointed out above that the ruling was already decided before Chuck’s visit yesterday, and of course you’re right. But I got chills seeing him there and had to remind myself the ruling isn’t a last-minute English paper that his visit would have affected.
They should have been awarded a much higher figure
I believe it wasn’t for nothing that KC3 paid a visit to the RCJ , not on the same day as the piece from Paul Dacre to KC3 giving what can only be construed to be a warning shot to KC3 regarding Harry.
It’s a sweet win but the fight continues
All these judge comments that seem to minimize his case show just why he needs such good lawyers.
“a good deal of the oppressive behaviour of the Press towards the Duke over the years was not unlawful at all” – this is why Harry needed his book, the Netflix series, Oprah, etc, not just the courts.
Not trying to minimize the victory but trying to process all the qualifications to his victory.
Yes, the minimizing comments are disturbing.
I found the term “oppressive” interesting though – to me the judge is acknowledging that the press is brutal and rough, but that doesnt mean that everything is illegal, and that’s what he’s evaluating.
I took it as some of the ways the press obtained the info was from the palace planting or leaking against Harry. Which he knows.
Yes. And he was only hacked by this group to a “modest extent”. What? Wonder how “modest” he would consider it if it was him or his family being spied on. It should also be multiplied for the number of times the info was used by this group and others even until today.
LOL I noticed that, too. Wonder what the judge would consider a “modest” hacking of his own phone.
Great holiday news for Harry! I love the fact that the Mirror asked for £500 in damages, and the judge gave H a modest £140+ thousand as small compensation. Good.
Congratulations Mr. Justice Man! Victory feels great. I expect Piers Morgan to now develop long covid that lasts into next year. Enjoy your win, H & M!
I am sure the government won’t bring any charges against the tabloids for this since they are in bed together for years. But, I am so so happy there is now a case showing the criminality of these people. They can try to rewrite the history as much as they want, the legal documents are here to stay.
Actually the Government and Tories are probably delighted by the ruling against the Mirror. The Mirror is the only tabloid to support Labour and brought down Boris Johnson by exposing partygate
It doesn’t matter who they support imo. Once a phone hacking inquiry begins, all the other tabloids will have to face it as well since Mirror isn’t the only criminal media company here. Harry has cases against all tabloids. They can’t just limit investigation with the Mirror.
In the meantime The Mirror has just lost money ahead of an election year.
Yes this is bad for the tabloid press overall and the Mirror deserve to be punished, but lets not pretend the Tories will be crying about their biggest attacker in the media losing money and reputation ahead of an election campaign.
@Alicia, I don’t understand why you are defending a criminal media organization. You are calling them attackers against Tories, but since Tories have won the last 4 elections, they are not very effective at their jobs. Besides, Mirror has been attacking both Harry and Meghan just like DM and sun. They are all looking after one another in this case. That’s why Tories have an interest to protect them because they know if an investigation starts, other media organizations will be implicated as well.
William is likely very incandescent and maybe will double down on hugging people and trying to play mr nice guy.
The thought of this makes me happy. The incandescent part, not the hugging part (no one wants to see that).
*snort* ‘no one wants to see that’. 😆
Harry: “TODAY’S verdict is prime example that PATIENCE IS IN FACT A VERTUE.
“— Today’s ruling is vindicating and affirming.
I’VE BEEN TOLD THAT SLAYING DRAGONS WILL GET YOU BURNED, BUT IN LIGHT OF TODAY’S VICTORY AND THE IMPORTANCE OF WHAT IS NEEDED FOR A FREE AND HONEST PRESS, IT IS A WORTHWHILE PRICE TO PAY.
And the mission continues.”
The British people who were attacking Harry (and Meghan) based on all the UK media’s lies and attacts, must be thankful to him for taking these devils to task ánd ashamed of themselves.
I really hope this causes some of the sheeple to wake the hell up. I have zero hope for the full on derangers, but the average British citizens who pay little attention to the monarchy, maybe just read the relentless headlines terrorizing Meghan and Harry, now hopefully will start paying attention.
There truly has been a coordinated attack, by your government, media, AND monarchy, against two people who had the nerve to fall in love and get the hell away from all of you who were tormenting them.
God, David Sherborne loves the cameras.
And? He’s doing his job.
Innie, I think you spelled Katie Kkkeen wrong. 🤷🏽♀️
“I think you spelled Katie Kkkeen wrong”
😂😂😂
LMAO!!!!
You mean the man who just won a case against the toxic press? Give this man his flowers. And all the cameras. He’s clearly charismatic and dramatic. The kind of trial lawyer movies are made about. The mirror group no doubt wishes they had him as a lawyer. Please.
He is likely doing what PH wants: making sure all the info is out in the public.
@Innie He makes the practice of law beautiful – a credit to the legal profession .He is
Bold, ( in agreeing to take up a cause which can be likened to David vs Goliath , with him going against the Press & RF by association
Incisive, articulate , competent… and he is good
looking as well.
Not to mention that he also acted on behalf of Princess Diana
What is there not to like?
Of course he’s going to look jubilant in front of the cameras. His client has taken on the might of the establishment and gained an almost impossible victory. It really was a David vs Goliath situation where few people thought Harry had a chance. If Harry had lost the case David Sherbourne would still have had to face the cameras. Loving the cameras really doesn’t come into it with a case as high profile as this one.
William, is that you?
@JADED, nah, it’s pss Morgan 😂
No, babes, I’m a fellow legal practitioner in London. DS can do great work (he represented Coleen Rooney against Rebekah Vardy) but his ego writes a lot of cheques. This is basically pro bono for him.
Huh? ‘his ego writes a lot of cheques’.? To his employees & clients? Is that a bad thing for them? That particular phrase is normally used for people that don’t deliver. Pretty sure that’s not why Sherborne is feared/respected.
Enjoy the quip from Top Gun. Reminds me of the friendliness the WanK’s have towards Cruise & his Church.
LOL @SussexWatcher. Spot on.
I’m so happy for Harry and this ruling. He has been harassed his entire life by that establishment. And then had to watch as they attacked his wife. Both Harry and Meghan won their suits against British papers…THR should really study the definition of winners and losers.
Good for Harry. Charles had the gall to visit that same court house yesterday. I’m sure the press told him to do that. And as someone on twitter said the judge finding 15 of the 33 stories were from hacking means that the rest were from Palace briefings as the Mirror said in court.
All I hope is Morgan loses his job .
The media will still make light of this and try and make Harry look bad ,but he still has other cases coming and must have a good chance of winning those too .
Very proud of Harry , he is a true soldier fighting for justice .
I would be proud to be his mum .
I also hope that piers is called on the carpet for naming names on that tv show and he is held accountable.
I think that’s unlikely, remember that Morgan’s bosses are the Murdochs and from the Murdochs point of view two things just happened:
– their oldest and one of their biggest commercial rivals in the British press just lost money and reputation
– Piers is now part of another gossipy news story that will draw viewers (including hate watchers) to their failing TV station so that they can see Piers’ reaction to it all.
And yet so far the DM hasn’t even reported on this ruling. Not sure about the sun. But they’re not exactly crowing over a competitor’s loss which is telling.
Yeah, their silence is an admission of their own guilt.
OMG, this part of Harry’s statement 🤣🤣 🔥 Go Hazz!
“I’d like to thank my legal team for so successfully dismantling the sworn testimony of Mirror Group’s senior executives, legal department and journalists who at least turned up, unlike their colleagues, who were perhaps too afraid to do so.”
@SussexWatcher – this is the one that stands out for me as read out by his lawyer, David Sherborne KC
““I’ve been told that slaying dragons will get you burned. But in light of today’s victory and the importance of doing what is needed for a free and honest press- it’s a worthwhile price to pay. THE MISSION CONTINUES.” — Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex”
Also the crack at his father’s warning that he couldn’t win … excellent.
@SussexWatcher – he threw so much at the RR and their followers it was hard to take it all in. 🙂 The part that stood out for me was:
“””“However, as Mirror Group intended, these hollow soundbites were blasted across front pages and across online platforms, and into the next day’s morning television shows. “””
Jeremy Vine, Lorraine Kelly, GMB (Susannah Reid, Richard Madeley – in particular) must have collectively buried their heads in their hands when David Sherbourne read that part out loud to the world’s press. They KNOW most of the crape they’ve been spouting about H&M has been based on groundless misinformation and yet they ALL went along with it. Following this statement, Harry has shown them all to be shameless opportunists who will jump on any bandwagon to increase ratings. This statement (along with the ruling) has shattered any credibility they may have had regarding the impartial reporting of facts into tiny smithereens.
Love that he called out the morning shows. The snide tone that the presenters take when talking about Harry or Meghan is so off-putting. It’s like they don’t care that outside of the BM bubble they just look nasty and biased.
It really is the classiest clapback I’ve ever read.
Well done, Harry! What stands out to me about this is that half the stories were found NOT to be the result of hacking. I wonder how much of the “careful analysis” of the origins of these other stories leads straight to royal sources, and if Harry is able to follow (and/or expose) that trail.
I’m looking it as there was not enough evidence to support the phone hacking claim of the other 18 articles. Inconclusive. Guessing the ‘careful analysis’ of the other stories does lead to the palaces.
Or, the other 18 articles didn’t originate from the Mirror Group and they were referencing other BM’s phone hacking.
Shouldn’t that be corrected to not “the result of hacking” by Mirror Group? Those other stories may have been picked up from DailyFail, Sun, etc. who were doing their own hacking and other illegal acts. They may or may not have been leaked by his family.
It is weird in the extreme. “I consider that his phone was only hacked to a modest extent, ”
To a modest extent? What’s the acceptable level of hacking here? Surely any hacking is bad?
Obligatory not a lawyer but I think it’s because Harry said 33 articles were the result of phone but the judge found that it was 18. So 18/33 is a “modest” amount in *this* specific context. The judge isn’t making a blanket statement on all phone hacking or saying there’s an acceptable level of phone hacking in general.
Very happy for Harry!!
William never donated the money to Invictus. That was a lie peddled to make William look halfway decent.
And for Harry, it’s probably less about the money and more about the justice. He doesn’t care if he gets 1p out of this as long as the truth is out there.
William did not donate his million to the Invictus Games.
@Lynchburg – Harry received £500,000 came from the Endeavour fund which was part of the royal foundation that he founded along with William and that he Harry had specifically created .See below 👇
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invictus_Games
William sold his soul along with the settlement. The money from the royal foundation to IG was Endeavour Funds money that were transferred once EF became part of IG. Not PW’s money.
Prince Harry slaying 🐉 dragons.. Congratulations 🎉🍾
Bwahahahaha! Good for you, Harry! Great news in the morning.
They called out Piss Moron…eh, Piers Morgan. He must be fit to be tied!
And specifically mentioned how credible Omid Scobie’s testimony was! That’s gotta burn.
Congratulations to Harry, his family and his incredible legal team!! I am very happy that there are people like Harry who are willing to take a stand for justice and truth. And, I am very happy that he has the love and support from his wonderful circle of friends and family ❤️
Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, the dragon slayer. 🎉🎉👏
I like to think the judge was fully aware of what he was doing with this verdict 😔AND COMMENTS “His use of the word” oppressive “, is marking the papers card, he’s saying” I’m aware of what you have been attempting since the start of this case, and I will be watching your reporting after this case, because whilst some of your reporting has skirted the boundaries of illegality, you didn’t break them. But don’t try! “, also I think he is acknowledging that their is a secret contract between the the press and the Palace and that’s why he pointed out that not everything came from phone hacking. Read it and weep bully boy, your brother, the avenger has shown your ass to the world. Yep bully has a price tag and Harry has a spine,
Well said, Mary Pester.
That’s also how I read it @mary pester. Not sure though what Harry can do about the technically legal planting of information from his families. Would love to see some of that come out in the court proceedings. Possibly the one with Murdoch where William took the settlement.
@ JAIS, exactly lovey, in a minute the Dam is going to break, because now, some reporter out to make a splash, is going to look at that ruling and the evidence that was given in court, and try and peice together the ones that could ONLY have come from inside the Royal family, so there are at least two or three females that need to start sweating and two men! Because someone is going to dig and dig deep while looking at dates, and all those people who tried to say that Omid was a liar and they didn’t believe his book, all I can say to them is 😂😂😂😂😂, the judge says differently
Wahoo! And I’m here for all of that @mary pester.
This is fantastic. For people like Harry. And for people like Milly Dowler’s family, whose murdered daughter’s phone was hacked. The tabloid press in our country is disgusting.
To this day, I am shook over the Milly Dowler case.
You’ll probably remember The Mirror got into her mobile answerphone and hacked the desperate calls from her family looking for her. Horrible people.
@sparrow – Far be it for me to defend the Mirror but, it was the News of the World who hacked Milly’s phone. Sorry to be so pedantic but, it’s the main reason why the News of the World had to close down. I’ll never forget the Murdoch family turning up to try and defend the indefensible at the Committee Hearing. It was shortly after that hearing that James Murdoch was scapegoated and lost any chance of taking over the empire.
LauraD Thank you for the correction. I really had it committed to mind as The Mirror.
LMAO, this just popped up as a huge red “BREAKING NEWS” bulletin on my work computer this morning!! WELL DONE HARRY!!!
Go Harry!!!!!
Congrats Harry! Prince of Hearts and dragon slayer!
I’m so proud of Harry for his bravery, conviction, and courage. In that and more, he is head and shoulders above his brother and father. Congratulations are in order. I could use some victory right now. Harry and Meghan are such an inspiration.
Chose one: after the court announced its ruling (1) William and Charles called to congratulate Harry and thank him for working so hard to improve the state of UK journalism, by holding the media accountable; or (2) William and Charles immediately began efforts to punish Harry for his victory against one of their partners.
The DM has removed the comment option from its article LOL. It had a lot of “good on him” comments before they shut that down!
Harry’s statement about winning his hacking case was a lot longer than what was included in CBS News, the slaying dragons part was just the last paragraph in a pretty long statement. His lawyer read the full statement outside the court after the ruling. You can find the statement in full here in which he name checks Piers Morgan: https://www.townandcountrymag.com/society/tradition/a46146291/prince-harry-statement-phone-hacking-case-december-2023/
A very powerful statement. Good luck and congratulations to Harry as he keeps up his mission holding the press accountable for illegally obtaining information and spreading lies about him.
Thank you VilleRose!
Thanks for the link, Villerose!
A clear and powerful statement. And what good timing for good news. Harry is a true patriot here.
Congrats to Prince Harry! This is welcome news. Perhaps this victory is the reason why Daily Fall’s editor Paul Dacre wrote that unhinged editorial directed at KCIII basically threatening him to reign in Harry.
I’ve just finished listening to James O’Brien on this matter. Well worth a listen.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3IRxLTqH2nE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2AgakwL7A8
Yes, James was so awesome on the reporting of this issue. I listen to the podcast of the live show frequently. He gave a significant amount of program time to this segment. Even the title of this episode on the podcast was “Piers Morgan knew about the phone hacking”. Loved it!
Thank you @Lissen for sharing those links. Great stuff. The first link was powerful. The second even more so. James O’Brien didn’t shy away. At all. O’Brien said the thing that so many of us have said. He was paraphrasing a number of RR’s opinions and veiled threats. Some not quite veiled. IYKYK Shocking. /s
Chills. “nice wife you’ve got there, be a shame if something happened to her.”.
James O went there. It was gooood.
I’m not active on SM. It would be a shame if James O’Brien’s words/show regarding this was shared to US news organizations. /s QWhite the shame.
Thank you so much for sharing those links….I just finished listening to them!
The British press is trash, pure trash! The worst is the public encourages that trashy behavior by reading, buying and getting outraged for their BS.
The difference in moral character and courage between H & W couldn’t be more stark! W should be ashamed to have agreed to lie in bed with those despicable people for a few good headlines….H is 1000000 times the man W will NEVER be!
The wrong brother will become HoS in the UK or perhaps W is really what that country deserves!
This is why Harry refused to settle. He wanted to expose what they had done. It’s also the reason the tabloid did NOT want to go to trial.
There are two very positive thing to come out of this. The first is that the people who have been hacked and haven’t the resources to sue and haven’t yet sued (the Mirror has already paid out $$ to settle cases) may decide to do so. Harry proved the hacking and it can be done again.
The second positive thing that I can see is that it tells the world’s media what the UK media is really all about–I know it’s not all of them, but it’s certainly the ones who get copied and reported. The credit world media (I hope) will be more careful in future in what they print if it’s based on the UK tabloid media. Let’s remember that Harry gets to go up against another tabloid in January 2025–I think that’s the date of the new trial. I wonder if that date was chosen because of Invictus? Hmmmm …
I’m happy for Harry and his legal team. They really did an outstanding job. I’m not focused on the money part of this decision because that’s truly not the important win. Harry’s doing exactly what he wanted to do. He’s bringing to light what’s been hidden in the dark.
Good point about the world media, @Saucy&Sassy. When international media report about phone hacking issue or unethical practices of tabloids, they always say “allegedly” because the tabloids never accepted liability while settling. Now there is a successful court case that can be cited as a source. Once Harry’s other cases got the same result, all UK tabloids will be proven guilty legally. Their reputation (if they had any) will be in the gutter.
All we do is win win win win no matter what! I am so happy to hear that Prince Harry has won! Its such great news for everyone pursing justice and want a fair and balanced media. For the Sussex family in particular this is coming at such a great time. A win right before the holidays is extra sweet.
1 down and more to go!
Wonderful news.
I can’t muster up too much excitement over this judgement. Here’s the math; Harry has to pay 50 thousand to them for attorney fees ,per a couple of days ago news. Now he is only awarded 140 thousand. He really only awarded him 90 thousand which is lunch money for a tabloid and an insult. This seems like a token “go away” money from the court, like swatting a mosquito. No victory dance from me just yet. He deserved a lot more.
Correct me if I am wrong, but I am pretty sure the Mirror will have to pay Harry’s lawyer fees since they lost. Also, it is said multiple time in this page, the money wasn’t the objective of Harry. The first time since News of the World went under, a major UK newspaper is found guilty in phone hacking. When they were settling outside the court, they always refused to accept that they hacked phones and committed any crimes. This opens the doors to all the other cases and increases the cost of future settlements since there is a precedent that this media company is found guilty before.
@Libra
Are there two different cases here?
Libra, I don’t think this is the same case.
@Libra, sorry your wrong, costs are to be paid by mirror group, Harry does not have any legal fees to pay, and even if it had (which it didn’t) turn out that way, Harry has always said “it’s not about the money”.
It’s not the same case. Harry having to pay involves ANL/Fail on Sunday. That case is not over yet.
https://www.lbc.co.uk/news/prince-harry-ordered-to-pay-mail-on-sunday-nearly-50-000-after-losing-libel-case/
I see there are quite a few people here trying to minimize this victory under the paper-thin veneer of faux concern. Don’t be too obvious now 😉
Thanks, that just HAD to be said!
I think he’s also going to get punitive damages for an undisclosed amount. This is disclosed in as the Judge’s statement reads: “I have also awarded a further sum for pain & suffering. This is just a shortened version (abridged) of the statement. I got this from a Sussex Squad podcast.
Thank you, I was wondering about this. The damages portions are usually larger than whatever amount the papers are latching onto. I hope he got millions! In my humble opinion, he certainly deserves more than his cowardly, conniving, backstabbing brother. And as Flower said above, you just KNOW that the British media have continued with the hacking and have used this as a means to spy on Harry and Meghan from before the world knew that they were dating.
Good job Big Red. Not only does it prove he wasn’t given a fair chance.
It proves his mother was right. Robbie Williams was right. Hugh grant was right. Katie price was right. George Micheals was right. The spice Girls was right. Bruce Willis was right. Tom cruise was right. Nicole Kidman was right. And so many more.
Before Harry, Tom Cruise went to absolute war with them. They actual damaged Tom Cruises standing because he kept suing them. Other magazines posted some awful things be ayse of the lawsuits. But Tom Cruise was right. You have got to stay on them. They wouldn’t cover his movies for years. Tried to blacklist him. But Tom acted his way out of it.
They banned Fran Drescher over Princess Diana. They say she blamed the paparazzi too quick. I honestly think she is still banned it’s just soften a bit.
Outrageous. Hardly the victory it should have been. Less than what they offered to settle a few thousand dollars ago. Wills got $1m. Life isn’t fair.
Wills got the money from Murdoch, not the same company.
@Suze, sevenblue is correct.
https://www.npr.org/2023/04/25/1171994722/prince-william-murdoch-phone-hacking-settlement
Suze, vpd4 above says, “This is disclosed in as the Judge’s statement reads: “I have also awarded a further sum for pain & suffering. This is just a shortened version (abridged) of the statement. I got this from a Sussex Squad podcast.”
We’ll never what amount he will get for pain & suffering, but it should be more than what he’s gotten thus far (I hope).
If this was in the US, IMO the damages would have been even more $$. But in this case, I feel, it’s really not about money, It’s the fact a national news outlet in the UK ABUSED their power and used UNETHICAL practices to get their stories. Their reputation around the world is a Laughing stock like Trump .
And to remind people: Keep Speaking Up and Call them out ESP when real FACTS are on your side. Sooner or later the Truth will come out.
Harry has never been in this for a payout.
Do you really think he was in it for the money? I read this on twitter…there are some people who know the price of everything, but they know the VALUE of nothing! You appear to be one of those people unfortunately!
Well done,Harry! I am rereading Spare and it often slips my mind just how much trauma the press has had a major hand in causing him. Not only his mother, but his ex girlfriend died of suicide due to the press abuse and they tried to come for his wife. He is right to take them all out, step by step, until they all fall down. They all know it too and from now on, everytime I see an unfair article about Harry, I’m going to interpret it as Piers Morgan shaking in his weak boots!!
Go, Harry!
BBC reporter has revealing comments on the biased tabloid reporting on this case.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-67732229
The tabs and The Times and GB News want to brainwash the public to traduce Harry. He was phone hacked for years and now palace insiders brief daily against him and Meg. Same reason: tabs and RF have cosy deal which involved MH as scapegoats to deflect scrutiny away from King and heir. Who is worse the tabs or CC and W? Well tabs are neither father nor brother of Harry so I view C W’s betrayal as worse.
Thanks for the link @lady digby. I wonder if this means the pressure on royals to leak and brief more will ramp up? If the tabloids are struggling financially due to escalating lawsuits, they’re going to have to find new and more scurrilous methods to get clicks and revenue. Or would this mean the royals now hold the balance of power and will strictly dictate the terms of the cozy deal?
Thanks lady digby. Excellent share.
“What I saw in court did not seem to equate with what I read about in the reporting by some papers about the trial.”.
“Some of this was trivial. Something the prince clearly said as a joke was described in the Mail as a grumble. It really wasn’t.”.
“A polite ask to “repeat the question” was written up as a demand. He was described as a combustive mixture of “victimhood and arrogance”.”.
That is not what I saw.
“More damagingly perhaps, some headlines too appeared a little skewed. For example, that he had told the judge he “is not aware of any evidence he was hacked by the Mirror”.
Clearly, he and his legal team believed there was evidence, or they would not have brought this case.”.
So happy Piers Morgan finally got his comeuppance from the UK justice system. Haha ! No amount of whining and hissing can erase the fact that he’s been marked in documents by the UK courts as a hacker. Karma.
I skimmed a lot of the British Media, and few have said anything about this court case. Most are focusing their articles on how H&M had the nerve to post a Christmas card without their children in it, as if the media has the right to see these young children in a Christmas card.
I really do not understand this custom of posting an annual Christmas card. No regular human beings do this. You send cards, possibly with a personal note inside, to family and close friends, not to the local newspapers and TV stations!! As I see it, sending out a card to the public media, as well as some regular recipients, reminds less-close family and friends that they are not worth sending out a personal card to. That certainly isn’t a very considerate or friendly message. It just seems to defeat the purpose of a personal message, and why is this message the business of the media and the general public anyway???
I’ve long thought that the BRF do it to build familiarity and loyalty for the future monarchs — without actually having to interact with people. And, to some extent, it probably helps the tax payers feel good about — and having the illusion of feeling more connected with — these people that their tax dollars are supporting. I think now with social media creating new norms, it probably would seem very odd if, say, the Wales family didn’t do Christmas and birthday cards. It’s also seems like kind of a deal with the media. So they’ll release regular photos of the kids — and expect relative privacy the rest of the time, plus a few public appearances.