In the latest development in Prince Harry‘s phone hacking case against Mirror Group Newspapers, Harry’s lawyer, David Sherborne, named media personality Piers Morgan as someone who could have “injected” information by phone hacking into news stories about the Prince during his time as editor of the Mirror.
Following a damning statement by Harry to the High Court, Morgan commented to paparazzi that he “wishes [Harry] luck with his ‘privacy campaign,'” referring to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s wish for more privacy in their time away from being working royals.
Prince Harry Accuses Piers Morgan Of ‘Vile And Unjustified’ Behavior In Statement
In his statement to the High Court, Harry wrote that “The thought of Piers Morgan and his band of journalists earwigging into my mother’s private and sensitive messages (in the same way as they have me) and then having given her a ‘nightmare time’ three months prior to her death in Paris, makes me feel physically sick and even more determined to hold those responsible, including Mr. Morgan, accountable for their vile and entirely unjustified behavior.”
The Prince also highlighted letters from his mother, Princess Diana, to TV presenter Michael Barrymore, in which she wrote of her suspicion that the Daily Mirror—at the time edited by Piers Morgan—had been listening to her private phone messages. During questioning in the case of the Mirror's royal correspondent at the time, Jane Kerr, Sherborne also brought up articles that appeared to quote a private conversation between brothers Harry and William, and also quoted the private thoughts of now-King Charles.
Sherborne stated that these were examples of "information that would precisely have come from people listening to voicemail messages." Kerr, for her part, denied ever being involved with phone hacking and "wouldn't even have known how" to use information coming from such an illegal source. She did say, however, that her editor at the time, Piers Morgan, would occasionally have input in her royal stories: "occasionally contributed to stories. "He might say he had a been speaking to somebody at the palace...He took a really genuine interest in royal stories."
When Sherborne speculated if Morgan "maybe have injected information" into the articles from phone-hacked voicemails, Kerr responded that "I can’t say he didn’t but I think it would be highly unlikely."
Morgan's Current Media Attacks Fueled By Anger Over Case, Says Harry
The Prince also believes that the fierce criticism Piers Morgan has voiced in the media about himself and wife Meghan Markle are a consequence of him bringing the claim against MGN, with the intention of trying to bully him out of pursuing the legal case. "Unfortunately, as a consequence of me bringing my Mirror Group claim, both myself and my wife have been subjected to a barrage of horrific personal attacks and intimidation from Piers Morgan," said Harry. "[The attacks are] presumably in retaliation and in the hope that I will back down, before being able to hold him properly accountable for his unlawful activity towards both me and my mother during his editorship."
In his response to paparazzi questions about being named in the case, Morgan's reference to Harry's "privacy campaign" appears to be a sarcastic barb regarding how the Prince has been in the media despite his supposed desire for peace. Morgan also told reporters that he "looks forward to [reading about it] in his next book," a reference to the publication of Harry's controversial first memoir, Spare.
The Duke of Sussex, who flew to England from California to testify in person for the case, spent a day and a half in the witness box Tuesday and Wednesday answering questions about his accusations that the British press had used unlawful means to extract private information for stories regarding his personal life.
