In the case of the claim for damages by Prince Harry and other British celebrities for wiretapping phones and other spying, a trial began on Wednesday at the London High Court. The 38-year-old royal and other celebrities accuse the then managers of the tabloids "The Mirror", "The Sunday Mirror" and "Sunday People" of having known about illegal methods such as the interception of mobile phone voice messages and the fraudulent acquisition of medical data.
The defendant is the publisher of the three papers, Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN). The fact that the celebrities were spied on by journalists and private detectives had already been partially admitted by the publisher. Individual journalists have been prosecuted. Now it is a question of whether and how the management level was involved in the illegal activities.
"Most intrusive methods of obtaining private information"
Plaintiff attorney David Sherborne began reading the statement of claim on Wednesday. From 1995 onwards, Prince Harry had become the target of the "most intrusive methods of obtaining private information," said Sherborne, who spoke of "appalling" practices. The trial is to be conducted on the basis of several individual cases as an example of a class action lawsuit brought by many other plaintiffs.
At the start of the trial, the publisher apologized in a written submission for the spying and admitted that Prince Harry was entitled to compensation. However, individual cases of allegedly intercepted voice messages were rejected by defendant lawyer Andrew Green. In addition, the lawsuit comes too late.
Prince Harry is all about principle
But Prince Harry is also concerned with principle. In addition to celebrities, victims of sensational crimes and their relatives have also been the target of illegal research methods. The case of the Duke of Sussex highlights what has happened to many other lesser-known people, Sherborne said, adding: "That's why he decided to file the lawsuit."
The spying had taken place "on an industrial scale in all three sheets," said the star lawyer, who had already represented Prince Harry in other proceedings. Invoice receipts had proven that private detectives had been commissioned and paid by various departments within the editorial offices. The legal department and the board of directors were also aware of the events. He spoke of a "flood of breaches of the law" authorized by senior editors.
The opposing side wants to present its arguments on Friday before the witness questioning begins next week. The trial is scheduled for seven weeks. The younger son of King Charles III (74) is expected to take the witness stand himself in June. The focus of the proceedings is likely to be, among other things, the former editor-in-chief of the "Mirror", Piers Morgan, who headed the paper from 1995 to 2004. Morgan had distinguished himself in recent years, especially as a sharp critic of Harry's wife Meghan (41). He rejects the allegations in the current proceedings.
The trial is just one of several that Prince Harry is conducting in the UK against the tabloid media known as the "tabloid press". He had already appeared as a witness in March in a case against the publisher of the newspapers "Daily Mail" and "Mail on Sunday", Associated Newspapers Limited. Harry has also initiated proceedings against the publisher of the newspapers "Sun" and the now discontinued "News Group Newspapers" because of similar allegations.