By Tony O’Reilly-
Television presenter and veteran journalist, Piers Morgan,(pictured) has issued a statement attacking Prince Harry, after a High Court judge has accepted evidence suggesting that the former editor of the Daily Mirror was aware of journalists engaging in phone hacking during his tenure.
The ruling emerged as part of the unlawful information gathering claims brought against Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN), revealing a culture of widespread illegal practices that persisted from 1996 onwards.
Mr. Justice Fancourt stated unequivocally that editors of MGN titles, including the Daily Mirror, were aware of voicemail interception, describing unlawful information gathering as “widespread” at The Daily Mirror, The Sunday Mirror, and The People from 1996 onwards.
Phone hacking, according to the judge, became “habitual” from 1998, and this continued even during the Leveson Inquiry into press intrusion.
Piers Morgan, who served as the Daily Mirror’s editor from 1995 to 2004, has consistently denied involvement in phone hacking.
In his statement, Morgan said former Daily Mirror editor said just one story found to have been obtained illegally was written under his editorship and he remained unsure as to how it was sourced, adding he would have been happy to address the High Court if asked by either side.
At the end of his statement, Mr Morgan said: “The Duke has been repeatedly exposed in recent years as someone who wouldn’t know the truth if it slapped him around his California tanned face.
“He demands accountability for the press but refuses to accept any for himself for smearing the Royal Family, his own family, as a bunch of callous racists without a shred of proof to support those disgraceful claims.
“He also says he’s on a mission to reform the media when its become clear his real mission, along with his wife, is to destroy the British monarchy, and I will continue to do whatever I can to stop them.
He continued: “This is a guy who has repeatedly trashed his family in public for hundreds of millions of dollars even as two of its most senior and respected members were dying – his grandparents.
“It’s hard to imagine, frankly, more appalling behaviour than that”.
Morgan questioned Prince Harry’s mission to reform the media and learn the truth about historic phone hacking.
The presenter said the truth isn’t something Harry would know if it “slapped him around his California tanned face”.
In a separate attack against author Omid Scobie and journalist Alastair Campbell, Morgan told reporters: “I wasn’t called as a witness – it’s important for people to know this – by either side in the case, nor was I asked to provide any statement. I would have very happily agreed to do either or both of those things had I been asked.
“Nor did I have a single conversation with any of the Mirror Group lawyers throughout the entire legal process.
“So I wasn’t able to respond to the many false allegations that were spewed about me in court by old foes of mine with an axe to grind, most of which, inexplicably, were not even challenged in my absence by the Mirror Group counsel.
“But I know the judge appears to have believed the evidence of Omid Scobie, who lied about me in his new book and he lied about me in court, and the whole world now knows him to be a deluded fantasist. And he believed the evidence of Alastair Campbell, another proven liar who spun this country into an illegal war.
Piers Morgan insisted he had “zero knowledge” of the single article published in his time as editor of the Daily Mirror which may have involved illegal information gathering.
Speaking outside his London home, Mr Morgan said: “I had then and still have zero knowledge of how that particular story was gathered.
“I also want to reiterate, as I’ve consistently said for many years now, I’ve never hacked a phone or told anyone else to and nobody has provided any actual evidence to prove that I did.”
Journalists had been camping outside Morgan’s property in wait for an official response from one of Britain’s most experienced and opinionated journalists.
Prince Harry called for a fresh police investigation and a Parliamentary probe into phone hacking at tabloid newspapers as he emerged victorious from a High Court battle
Evidence from Omid Scobie and David Seymour
The court based its findings partly on the testimony of royal biographer Omid Scobie. Scobie, who had worked with The Daily Mirror in 2002, claimed to have overheard Morgan being informed about information obtained through voicemails. The judge deemed Scobie a “reliable witness,” accepting his account.
Additionally, the court accepted evidence from David Seymour, group political editor of The Daily Mirror from 1993 to 2007. Seymour described Morgan as “unreliable and boastful,” asserting that Morgan knew his journalists were involved in phone hacking. The judge, considering Seymour a man of “intelligence and integrity,” accepted his evidence without hesitation.
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