The judge in the Supreme Court, Mr. Justice Fancourt, was to decide on Friday whether 33 news articles contained information the journalists had broken the law to obtain. This has long been the claim of the Duke of Sussex, who has demanded NOK 4.2 million for serious violations of his right to privacy. Now the Supreme Court judge has concluded that 15 of these articles “are the product of phone hacking or other illegal methods of obtaining information”, according to the BBC. Court cartoonist Elizabeth Cook has created this sketch of Prince Harry in the witness box in June. Photo: Elizabeth Cook / AP Harry claims that journalists have hired private investigators to obtain information about him, something that the court has not determined concretely. But the judge said that former MGN boss Sly Bailey knew that the phone hacking was going on and “turned a blind eye”, reports the broadcaster further. This means a partial victory for the prince, which means that he will be paid 140,600 pounds, or almost NOK 1.9 million, in compensation. Phone hacking and the use of private investigators In June, Harry became the first British royal physician in over 130 years to testify in a courtroom. He believes his answering machine has been hacked since he was a teenager attending Eton College. – I felt that I could not trust anyone. It was a terrible feeling for me, especially when I was so young, Harry said as he handed over his diploma. Here the prince celebrates his last day at Eton, in 2003. This is the year the court believes the phone hacking started. Photo: TOBY MELVILLE / Reuters The articles for which he has received support were written from 2003 until 2011, i.e. from the time the prince was 19 until he was 27. Harry is one of approximately one hundred plaintiffs who have taken the newspaper group to court for having been exposed to illegal working methods. Asking for a criminal investigation Harry was not himself present in court on Friday. He was given too short notice to travel there from his home in Canada, his defense lawyers say. In a written statement, read to the press by lawyer David Sherborne after the court hearing, Harry said it was “a great day for the truth and for holding people to account”. He made a call to the British prosecution to criminally investigate the newspaper group for the illegal acquisition of information. Lawyer David Sherborne read out Harry’s reaction after the victory in court. Photo: HOLLIE ADAMS / Reuters – The court decision today is vindicating and affirming, says Harry in the statement. – I have been told that you get burned by killing dragons, but in light of today’s victory and how important it is to do what is necessary to have a free and honest press, it is a worthy price to pay. The mission continues. The newspaper group asks for a reason MGN publishes a number of well-known British tabloid newspapers. Among them are the Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror and Sunday People. Their lawyers have so far claimed that the debts were “completely speculative”. But in a public statement, a spokesperson for the media company wrote: All his life, Prince Harry has had a difficult relationship with the British press. These are some headlines from the early 2010s. Photo: DANIEL SORABJI / AFP – We welcome this decision that came today, which gives the company the clarity it needs to move on from events that happened many years ago. – The times historical missteps were made, we ask for a reason. We have taken full responsibility and paid adequate compensation for this, it says.
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Prince Harry exposed for “extensive phone hacking” – news Vestland
