Prince Harry has finished the first day of evidence in his case against the publisher of the Daily Mirror over alleged unlawful information gathering.
In what was at times a remarkable testimony, the Duke accused the Press of having “blood on their hands” and said the tabloids tried to ruin every relationship he was in because they wanted him to be single.
In one key exchange, Harry was accused by Andrew Green KC – representing Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN) – of making contradictory comments in his memoir Spare, when compared to his witness statement, regarding a disagreement with his brother over whether to meet Paul Burrell, Diana’s former butler.
In his witness statement, Harry writes he was “firmly against meeting” Burrell, while his book contains a passage in which he says he wanted to fly home from his gap-year job in the Australian outback to meet him.
Harry says coverage of the dispute sowed “seeds of distrust” between Prince William and himself.
About a story headlined ‘Harry is ready to quit Oz’ that was published in the Mirror in September 2003 and detailed how the prince was “watching TV and videos”, Green put it to Harry that “the information that you are alleging came from voicemail interception or unlawful information-gathering…. in fact came from your minders”.
Other exchanges included:
MGN’s newspapers cover the scandal involving Harry wearing a Nazi costume at a party.
The impact of press intrusion on his relationship with Chelsy Davy.
He fears being expelled from Eton College for alleged drug use.
MGN began Tuesday’s proceedings by apologising to Harry for an article published in 2004 about the Duke’s visit to a London nightclub that it accepts was the product of unlawful information gathering. MGN denies all other wrongdoing.
Prince Harry admitted his memoir Spare contradicted a claim in his witness statement at the High Court today – and denied accusations his solicitors drafted evidence for him.
The Duke of Sussex said he could not remember whether he wanted to meet his mother’s former butler Paul Burrell, despite his opposition causing a rift with his brother Prince William, when asked about an article published in December 2003.
But Andrew Green KC, for Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN), pointed to a discrepancy between Harry’s witness statement, in which he says he ‘didn’t want to hear’ Mr Burrell’s reasons for selling some of Diana’s possessions and giving interviews about her, and his memoir Spare – where he wrote he wanted to fly home from his gap year job in the Australian outback to meet him.
The Duke’s Testimony and the Contradiction Regarding Paul Burrell in His Memoir
It came as Harry today became the first royal to testify for more than a century as part of a phone hacking trial in which he alleges that around 140 articles published between 1996 and 2010 by Mirror Group Newspapers contained information gathered using unlawful methods.
In a day that contained several heated exchanges, Harry also tried to turn questions on a lawyer after the High Court was told a story subject to one of his complaints came from a royal press release.
The Duke told the High Court he could not remember whether he wanted to meet Mr Burrell.
Harry said: ‘The time gap between the original article and when I wrote this book was rather a large gap between the two.’
Mr Green said: ‘Your position is that at the time you didn’t want a meeting, or you did want a meeting; what is the true position?’
Harry replied: ‘I honestly can’t remember whether I wanted a meeting.’
The Duke also faced questions over a Mirror article published in April 2003 regarding him leading cadets at an Eton parade.
Mr Green told Harry that the information complained about in this three-line story came from a St James Palace press release.
The MGN barrister said the Press Association had reported about Harry leading the tattoo on the same day as the press release and had quoted an Eton spokesman.
Mr Green also asked if there was anything objectionable in the Press Association coverage, to which the Duke answered that he was not aware of the Press Association report, adding: ‘I don’t believe that they have admitted hacking in any shape or form.’
During cross-examination, Harry was also challenged by Mr Green over whether a part of his witness statement was drafted for him by his solicitors.
Unveiling the Discrepancies in His Memoir’s Claims about Paul Burrell
‘I wrote this witness statement after a series of video calls with my legal team,’ the Duke said, explaining they took place while he was in California.
Harry added that he would spend two-and-a-half or three hours each time speaking to his lawyers.
‘I’m saying this witness statement is mine,’ he told the court.
In another heated moment in court, Mr Green asked: ‘Are we not, Prince Harry, in the realms of total speculation?’ when the royal said he was ‘not sure’ whose phone was hacked when he broke his thumb playing football at Eton and it appeared in the Press.
