By David Young And Sheila Mckenzie-
Prince Harry says there is evidence to suggest that Piers Morgan instructed reporters and photographers to use a variety of techniques to follow the movements of his former girlfriend Chelsy Davy.
The duke of sussex, who has received an apology from the daily mirror and an admission that unlawful conduct from the paper warrants compensation, has accused the British tabloid of presiding over a range of unlawful practices in obtaining information about himself, his mother, and his girlfriend over a period of many years.
Chelsea Davy was dating the prince for a few years, and was once subjected to unfair ridicule by late love Island presenter, Caroline Flack, who committed suicide in February 2020
Ms Davy, a Law graduate from Leeds University, eventually married a South African businessman, and was known to despite the public attention of the press, and faced a challenging time of indecisiveness over her relationship with Prince Harry.
It has not been established whether she will turn up in court to give any testimony.
Illigically followed by Press? Chelsea Davy Image: Chelsea Davy
The singling out of Piers Morgan could be damaging for the controversial television host, who was forced to step down from his job as editor of the daily mirror, later also bowing out of two very well paid jobs at CNN, and ITV’s Good Morning Britain, over misconduct allegations.
They alleged that activity such as phone hacking and ‘blagging’ was used when he was editor of the Mirror, the court was told. Morgan has previously denied any knowledge of phone hacking taking place on his watch.
A tranche of documents released to the court contain examples that the claimants say show Morgan “must have known” about illegal behaviour at the Mirror when he was editor between 1995 and 2004.
In one incident, Morgan allegedly asked a journalist to name the source of a celebrity story and was told “the information had come from voicemails”.
In another, a witness describes how Morgan was “laughing mockingly” as he entertained the Daily Mirror newsroom by repeatedly playing staff a private voicemail left by Paul McCartney for his then girlfriend, Heather Mills.
Morgan has been a vocal critic of the sussexes, but finds himself potentially facing the biggest scrutiny of his career, should he be compelled to answer fot activities under his charge many decades ago
The High Court is hearing a seven-week long trial into allegations from Prince Harry and others that their phones were hacked by journalists from Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN).
The Duke of Sussex will give evidence in person in June – meaning he will be the first senior member of the Royal Family in modern times to appear in court and be cross-examined
The allegations concern stories dating back some two decades.
The claimants [those who believe their phones were hacked] allege that 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.
They assert in their allegations that journalists exploited a (now-closed) gap in the security of mobile phones which allowed them to access the voicemail of their targets. By listening to messages left by friends and family, they were able to find out about the lives of the people they wanted to write about.
Journalists also allegedly used private investigators to trick others into handing over confidential information about the targets – everything from financial details to medical information.
His decision to include s an example of former girlfriend, Chelsy Davy, suggests the South African born businesswoman had aired complaints which will form the case against the multiple publications involved in the case.
The case could potentially prove significant if solid evidence is provided against the other news publications involved.
It can only be hoped that the serious allegations are not shown to have occured with other publications.
The claimants say there was no justifiable public interest in their targeting – it was simply “wrongdoing for cynical commercial reasons”.
Other Claimants
Other claimants issuing similar allegations include allegations from three other claimants are being tested: Coronation Street actor Michael Le Vell (real name Michael Turner), Nikki Sanderson; and Fiona Wightman, the ex-wife of the comedian Paul Whitehouse.
The four cases were chosen by the trial judge to help the court set the level of damages Mirror Group Newspapers should pay if the claimants win.
The High Court would then consider other cases from celebrities including the former Girls Aloud singer Cheryl, the estate of George Michael, actor Ricky Tomlinson and former Arsenal and England footballer Ian WrightAt the heart of the trial will be 207 newspaper stories published between 1991 and 2011.
Some 140 of them, dating from 1996 to 2010, were about Prince Harry.
The claimants argue senior executives must have known about unlawful information gathering behind these stories and failed to stop it.
One of the key allegations in the case is that the TV presenter Piers Morgan, editor of the Daily Mirror between 1995 and 2004, knew of illegal activity.
The Duke of Sussex’s lawyers want the court to consider a series of incidents which they say are evidence that Mr Morgan not only knew about hacking but told others too.
Mr Morgan has repeatedly denied involvement in illegal phone hacking – but this is the first time that a court will have been asked to rule on allegations about what he knew.
The Mirror group is no stranger to hacking allegations which they have had to embarrassingly confess to.
All members of the press should hope that for the sake of the reputation of the profession, some of the claims are proven to be untrue, and therefore unsopported with evidence.
In 2015, following allegations made by former Coronation Street actress Shobna Gulati, Mirror Group Newspapers admitted journalists had regularly used unlawful techniques and paid investigators to obtain private information. It issued a public apology.
However, the company insists the blame cannot be pinned on executives because it says the unlawful activity was deliberately concealed by the journalists.
Yes and no. There have been more than 1,000 claims against the owners of The Sun and long-closed News of the World (NOTW), owned by the Rupert Murdoch empire. Some NOTW journalists were jailed in relation to unlawful intrusion.
In 2012, the separate Leveson Inquiry revealed widespread allegations of wrongdoing in the tabloid press – but that investigation was not set up to deal with damages – and so a huge number of cases have rumbled on for more than a decade.
In the coming weeks, the claimants will allege that Mirror Group misled the Leveson Inquiry – something it denies.
The duke is suing News Group Newspapers (NGN), publisher of The Sun for alleged hacking. Its lawyers are trying to have the case thrown out by arguing that Prince Harry has run out of time to bring it to court. The paper’s owners have long admitted hacking took place at the News of the World – but never conceded it happened at The Sun.
Separately, the duke is one of seven people who allege unlawful intrusion by the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday. The newspaper group have denied that allegation.
There is no love lust between the sussexes and the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday.
The news group has been in court a number of times in litigation cases with both Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.
They have also fought back by highlighting inconsistencies in some of the account of the sussexes about the couple’s fall out with the royal family, with journalists and commentators taking their turn to either credit Prince Harry and Meghan Markle for standing up to the royal fmaily and the media, or discrediting them for stated discrepancies in some of their claims.
Piers Morgan himself is no friend of the couple, and has constantly criticised and berated the couple, attracting both fans and critics in the process.
The war continues, and the tape rolls on in a case that could be very dramatic and revealing.