Phone hacking so widespread at Mirror Group Newspapers that editors were personally involved, court hears
Jim Waterson
Phone hacking was so widespread at newspapers owned by Mirror Group Newspapers that even the editors were personally involved, it was alleged at the high court.
David Sherborne, the barrister for the alleged victims involving Prince Harry, said that, during the mid-2000s, phone hacking was widespread at Richard Wallace’s Daily Mirror, Tina Weaver’s Sunday Mirror, and Mark Thomas’ People.
He claimed that the top editors at the tabloids were aware of what was going on and at times were actively involved in illegally accessing voicemails. The barrister alleged:
All three of them were prolific hackers and users of unlawful information gathering.
All three editors have since left their newspaper roles but Wallace is now running Rupert Murdoch’s talkTV channel. This means he is the boss of star presenter Piers Morgan – who has also been accused of being aware of phone hacking at the Mirror.
Key events
Sherborne is setting out his clients’ claim that the Mirror used illegal means to stand up a story about debts owed by Prince Michael of Kent – and that Morgan was aware of the fact – because the story was strenuously denied, but the paper felt it had enough evidence to run it anyway.
Sherborne says Morgan was told about the denial, but decided to publish. Then defended the story in correspondence with the royals’ representatives.
Evidence will show Piers Morgan’s ‘direct involvement’, barrister claims
Moreover, Sherborne claims the evidence will set out Morgan’s “direct involvement” – as well as his knowledge of – the matters at the heart of this trial.
Sherborne says Morgan was central to the operation of the Mirror, where it is alleged hacking was going on regularly; both as editor-in-chief of the daily paper, but also because he was particularly close to members of the board.
Phone hacking so widespread at Mirror Group Newspapers that editors were personally involved, court hears
Jim Waterson
Phone hacking was so widespread at newspapers owned by Mirror Group Newspapers that even the editors were personally involved, it was alleged at the high court.
David Sherborne, the barrister for the alleged victims involving Prince Harry, said that, during the mid-2000s, phone hacking was widespread at Richard Wallace’s Daily Mirror, Tina Weaver’s Sunday Mirror, and Mark Thomas’ People.
He claimed that the top editors at the tabloids were aware of what was going on and at times were actively involved in illegally accessing voicemails. The barrister alleged:
All three of them were prolific hackers and users of unlawful information gathering.
All three editors have since left their newspaper roles but Wallace is now running Rupert Murdoch’s talkTV channel. This means he is the boss of star presenter Piers Morgan – who has also been accused of being aware of phone hacking at the Mirror.
Lawyers are going through documents they say will give background on evidence the court is due to hear later. We’ll bring you details of that evidence as the court hears it.
Second day of phone hacking trial gets under way
Good morning, welcome to the Guardian’s live coverage of phone hacking claims against Mirror Group Newspapers at the high court in London.
This is the first of Prince Harry’s three phone-hacking cases against British newspaper groups to go to trial, with the royal waiting to hear whether the courts will allow him to proceed with two separate cases against the parent companies of the Sun and the Daily Mail.
Yesterday, the court heard allegations that the former Mirror editor Piers Morgan knew about illegal phone hacking that was being “carried out on an industrial scale” at the paper.
Morgan, now a presenter on Rupert Murdoch’s TalkTV, has always denied knowingly commissioning or publishing stories based on illegally obtained voicemails.
Witnesses told the court on Wednesday they had heard Morgan openly discussing how phone hacking operated.
You can read my colleague Jim Waterson’s full story on Wednesday’s proceedings here:
