A judge declared that Piers Morgan, the prominent British broadcaster and former editor of the Daily Mirror, was aware of phone hacking at the newspaper in a ruling at London’s High Court on Friday. This revelation came as part of a lawsuit brought by Prince Harry and others against Mirror Group Newspapers.
Despite Morgan’s consistent denial of involvement or knowledge of phone-hacking and other illicit activities, Judge Timothy Fancourt determined that Harry had indeed been a victim of such practices by journalists at Mirror Group Newspapers. The judge emphasized that editors were well aware of these activities.
Omid Scobie, co-author of “Finding Freedom,” testified that Morgan was “reassured” over a 2002 story about singer Kylie Minogue and her then-partner James Gooding, believing it originated from voicemail interception.
Judge Fancourt deemed Scobie a “straightforward and reliable witness” and highlighted the lack of evidence contradicting his testimony.
Mirror Group Newspapers, the publisher of the Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror, and Sunday People, faced questioning about motives in supporting Harry’s case, but the judge upheld Scobie’s credibility. Piers Morgan chose not to comment on the judge’s findings.
Judge Fancourt also noted “compelling evidence” that editors were aware of extensive voicemail interception use and other unlawful information gathering practices, benefiting from them knowingly. Sly Bailey, chief executive of MGN’s parent company Trinity Mirror (now Reach) from 2003 to 2012, and Paul Vickers, Trinity Mirror’s group legal director until 2014, were found to have knowledge or turned a blind eye to such practices.
In response to the ruling, Prince Harry called for regulators and the police to investigate potential criminal offenses.
