Piers Morgan aware of phone hacking when at the Mirror, high court hears
The scale and extent of the unlawful methods were used so frequently they were an integral part of their modus operandi, the obvious go to for every story, Sherborne says.
Journalists, desk heads, deputy editors and editors themselves, including Piers Morgan, used or ordered the use of, the unlawful means, Sherborne says.
Key events
Chelsy Davy rejected royal life due to press intrusion
A tranche of documents have been filed to the court in support of the claims.
The documents show Chelsy Davy, the former girlfriend of the Duke of Sussex, decided that “a royal life was not for her” as a result of alleged unlawful information gathering by journalists at the Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN).
In court documents, Sherborne said these activities, including the alleged unauthorised accessing of his voicemails, caused the duke “huge distress” and created “a huge amount of paranoia in my relationships”.
Referencing Harry’s witness statement in the case, Sherborne said: “He became immediately suspicious of anyone named in stories about him and felt that he could not trust anybody, even at such a young age. It also caused great challenges in his relationship with his ex-girlfriend Chelsy Davy, and made him fear for his and her safety.
“Every time he was in a relationship, or even a rumoured relationship, that whole person’s family, and often their friends, would be ‘dragged into the chaos’ and find themselves the subject of unlawful activity on the part of MGN.
“There was nowhere that was ‘off limits’ for MGN’s newspapers, whose journalists would even manage to book into a hotel in Bazaruto, a small island off the coast of Mozambique, when the Duke of Sussex and Ms Davy tried to escape there and enjoy some peace and quiet.
“They were never on their own, which ‘placed a huge amount of unnecessary stress and strain’ on their relationship.
“Ultimately, MGN’s activities led Ms Davy to make the decision that ‘a royal life was not for her’, which was ‘incredibly upsetting’ for the Duke of Sussex at the time. They also caused their circle of friends to become smaller and smaller, meaning that friendships were lost entirely unnecessarily, and led to ‘huge bouts of depression and paranoia’.”
The hearing has resumed after lunch and Sherborne is summarising some of the findings of earlier trials covering unlawful information gathering by journalists.
Before the court hearing resumed today, the publisher of the Mirror newspaper admitted there is “some evidence” of unlawful information gathering (UIG) in relation to 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”.
The statements form part of the publisher’s defence to claims brought by Harry and other individuals over alleged unlawful information gathering at MGN titles.
Andrew Green KC, representing the publisher, said in the written arguments that it denied allegations of voicemail interception in the cases being examined during the trial. The barrister also said some of the challenges it faces have been brought beyond a legal time limit.
Green said “there is some evidence of the instruction of third parties to engage in other types of UIG in respect of each of the claimants” except for the case of actor Michael Turner whose claim is “entirely denied”.
He added: “MGN unreservedly apologises for all such instances of UIG, and assures the claimants that such conduct will never be repeated. This apology is not made with the tactical objective of reducing damages, MGN accepts that an apology at this stage will not have that effect, but is made because such conduct should never have occurred.”
During the court break, it is important to note that Piers Morgan has always strongly denied any knowledge of phone hacking at the Mirror and previously told the Guardian: “I’ve never hacked a phone nor told anybody to hack a phone.”
The hearing is paused for lunch and will resume at 2pm.
Mirror Group accused in court of leaving ‘morality at the door’ when gathering information
Sherborne says the risks taken to gather information unlawfully were “worth it” for the Mirror Group, adding they “left morality at the door”.
MGN took risks not just for celebrities but for other people who were well known for other reasons, Sherborne says.
He gives examples of documents such as invoices connected to the murder victims Millie Dowler and the Soham girls, Jessica Chapman and Holly Wells and the bus driver of the 7/7 bombings bus.
Mirror Group Newspapers used ‘blagger’ to obtain details about post-natal depression of TV presenter, court hears
MGN made extensive use of the blagger, Christine Hart in order to obtain highly personal and sensitive medical information through blagging GP surgeries, clinics and hospitals, Sherborne says.
This included her obtaining information about the post-natal depression of a famous female television presenter, who has since passed away, he says.
Hart was also used to obtain information about whether the wife of a television comedian was pregnant, about a well-known pop star entering rehab for alcohol and drug addiction and about a football manager having therapy, Sherborne says.
Sherborne gives another example of Steve Whittamore of JJ Services, who despite his being raided by police in 2003, his arrest in 2004 and conviction in April 2005, was used by MGN to unlawfully obtain private information, by the Daily Mirror until at least December 2005 and by The People until at least October 2006.
Whittamore provided information that Sherborne says no one could have thought was legally obtained.
Sherborne says MGN continued to use the “notorious” Southern Investigations, whose founder Jonathan Rees was arrested and later convicted in 1999.
Sherborne says those at the Mirror Group, including Piers Morgan, must have known Southern Investigations was using unlawful methods to gather information.
The Mirror Group Newspapers continued to use private investigators even though they had been previously convicted for illegally obtaining private information, Sherborne says.
He gives the example of Rachel Barry who despite being convicted in October 1997 for blagging mobile phone bills and obtaining ex-directory phone numbers for newspapers was continually used by MGN including by the Daily Mirror, the day after her conviction, including in relation to Princess Diana’s friend James Hewitt.
