The High Court trial between Prince Harry and the Daily Mirror publisher over phone hacking claims is in its third week.
Today, 25 May, Paul Vickers gave evidence for the defendants. Vickers — formerly the company secretary and the group legal director — said in his witness statement he had become known as the ‘angel of death’ in the newsrooms of the publishing company’s titles after “frogmarching” Piers Morgan out when he had been fired in 2004.
In his witness statement, Vickers also claimed he had asked 43 editors and senior journalists to confirm they had not engaged in UIG after the phone-hacking shame at the News of the World had broken in 2011.
“They lied to me, clearly lied to me”, he said during cross-examination.
The Duke of Sussex is one of four people – alongside former soap actress Nikki Sanderson, comedian Paul Whitehouse’s ex-wife Fiona Wightman and actor Michael Turner – bringing claims of unlawful information gathering against Mirror Group Newspapers.
MGN has said in a statement about the litigation: “Where historical wrongdoing has taken place, we have made admissions, take full responsibility and apologise unreservedly, but we will vigorously defend against allegations of wrongdoing where our journalists acted lawfully.”
Yahoo News will be keeping you up to date with all the big breaking news and major talking points from the trial, which is due to last up to seven weeks.
The GMB presenter, who famously walked off the ITV set when confronted by weatherman Alex Beresford, said: “All I am move to say is I am not move to take lectures on privacy invasion from Prince Harry.”
This comes as the Duke of Sussex and other high-profile figures bring claims against Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN) over alleged unlawful information gathering.
The former GMB host responded to the door-stepping journalist: “All I am going to say is I am not moved to take lectures on privacy invasion from Prince Harry, somebody who has spent the last three years ruthlessly and cynically invading the royal family’s privacy for vast commercial gain and told a pack of lies about them.
MIRROR LAWYER SAYS PIERS MORGAN’S DEPARTURE TURNED HIM INTO THE ‘ANGEL OF DEATH’
“So I suggest he gets out of court and apologises to his family for the disgraceful invasion of privacy that he’s been purporting.”
The 58-year-old added: “I think Prince Harry should be apologising for his disgraceful invasion of privacy of the royal family and others, by the way.”
In 2021, when Morgan walked away from Good Morning Britain, he said he did not believe Meghan’s claims made in the Oprah Winfrey special.
His comments sparked over 50,000 complaints, with Ofcom later saying this did not breach the broadcasting code.
The Mirror publisher recently apologised to Prince Harry for ordering the unlawful information gathering in the Royal’s latest phone hacking trial.
The apology came on the Duke of Sussex’s first day of legal action against Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN).
The publisher admitted there is “some evidence” of unlawful information gathering (UIG) about a High Court challenge brought by the Duke of Sussex that “warrants compensation”.
In court documents released at the start of a trial in London, Mirror Group Newspapers said it “unreservedly apologises” for instances of unlawful information gathering, which the publisher said “will never be repeated”.
Piers Morgan is accused of knowing a tabloid story about Prince Michael of Kent’s finances had been “blagged” illegally by private investigators working for the Daily Mirror, the High Court has heard.
The former newspaper editor turned TV host is under fire in a legal battle brought by Prince Harry and others against the Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN), alleging phone hacking and illegal newsgathering.
On the second day of the trial, barrister David Sherborne detailed a 1999 Daily Mirror story which claimed Prince Michael of Kent had run up £2.5 million in debts, including an unauthorised £220,000 overdraft at private bank Coutts.
It is said the Mirror obtained details of the senior Royal’s bank account through the services of Southern Investigations. This private eye agency allegedly fooled the bank into giving information by posing as the Prince’s accountant.
“At the time of the Prince Michael of Kent story, it (the newspaper) was edited by Piers Morgan, and (he) lies right at the heart of this in several ways.”
The court heard a complaint was lodged with the Mirror after the story first ran, with lawyers for the Prince denying that any debts had been run up and asserting: “What is clear is that your newspaper has obtained information in a manner which is not only in breach of confidence but which may well also be in breach of the criminal law.”
