By Sheila Mckenzie–
Journalists from the Mirror listened in to voicemail messages from the latePrincess Diana to Michael Barrymore, Harry’s lawyer has claimed in submissions to the High Court.
The High Court was shown letters written by the late princess to Michael Barrymore which reveal she had secret meetings with the actor.
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David Sherborne acting on behalf Prince Harry, told the court that Princess Diana had met to comfort Barrymore who was “struggling with coming out as gay” as well as an addiction to drink and drugs, and that Diana was meeting to comfort him through a difficult time.
Former television star, Barrymore has kept a low profile ever since Stuart Lubbock, 31, died following a party at his then-home in Roydon, Essex, on March 31 2001.
In 2021, Essex Police released a suspect in connection with Lubbock’s death without charge, due to insufficient evidence for a realistic chance of a successful prosecution .
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Sherborne said MGN would used unlawful information gathering in order to trump or build on stories already published in rival papers.
In one letter, dated March 1997, she writes: “Dear Michael, what joy it was to finally meet you tonight. I did want to emphasise that I’m here for you, whatever, whenever. It’s very easy to pop round and see you.”
In a later letter, she says she was “devastated” to hear the Mirror was telephoning her office to ask about “six meetings supposedly between us”.
“Nobody knew about our conversations/phone call. How deeply sorry I am [that] what I considered to be a private matter has become public property,” she writes.
Mr Sherborne argues that “plainly the Daily Mirror had been listening in to the voicemail messages” between the pair.
He further said that in Piers Morgan’s book, The Insider, he refers to “rumours” that Diana was “secretly comforting” Barrymore and that he was being treated for alcohol addiction.
The lawyer argues the only way the Mirror could have found this out was through intercepting voicemails.
The damning allegations call for a sharp rebuttal of the claims which could lead to a call for evidence from the publication to explain how it obtained the information. There are number of potential explanations that could be presented to show how the paper obtained that information, but the allegations could open up a whole can of worms which could get really messy.
Mirror Group Newspapers settled hundreds of claims in the 2015 hacking case which saw it pay out £1.25m in damages to eight victims. MGN has set aside £28m to deal with hacking allegations.
Harry and others say journalists from the Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror and The People newspapers obtained private and confidential information about their lives through a variety of illegal means.
Journalists are also accused of using private investigators to trick others into handing over confidential information about the targets – everything from financial details to medical information.
Prince Harry also claims to have evidence that reporters and photographers used a variety of techniques to follow the movements of his former girlfriend Chelsy Davy.
In 2012, the Leveson Inquiry revealed widespread allegations of wrongdoing in the tabloid press – but the claimants in this case allege that Mirror Group misled the Leveson Inquiry – an allegation denied by the Mirror group.
However, the Leveson inquiry was not established to cater for damages , despite some of the pay outs made by the Mirroe.
Meanwhile, Prince Harry has been criticised for not showing up in court today, choosing to stay in Los Angeles to attend his daughter’s second birthday party, writes media editor Jim Waterson from the high court.
The High Court judge had asked for him to be in court ready to give evidence on Monday, in case lawyers finished their opening legal arguments earlier than expected.
When the Mirror’s legal team indicated they would speed through their opening arguments, Harry’s team revealed that their client would not be ready in time.
Harry’s legal representative, David Sherborne told the court that his client only left California on Sunday night after prioritising his toddler’s party. As a result Prince Harry would not be available to give evidence in London on Monday afternoon.
His absence left dozens of photographers, and television camera crews that had gathered outside the Rolls Building to capture the arrival of the prince disappointed.
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