LONDON – A British newspaper group apologized for illegal information gathering and vowed it would not happen again in a trial that began Wednesday that pitted Britain’s Prince Harry and other celebrities against Britain’s tabloid press. A case, brought jointly by other UK celebrities including the Duke of Sussex and the estate of popstar Cheryl Cole and the late George Michael, is under way in London’s High Court, against Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN), its publisher. Daily Mirror Tabloid, Alleged Phone Hacking.
The Mirror Group is contesting the claims against it, arguing that some were brought outside the allowed time frame and denying some. However, MGN said in court documents released Wednesday that “in each of the claimants’ cases there is some evidence of third-party instructions to engage in other forms of UIG (unlawful information gathering),” which “warrants damages.”
“MGN apologizes unreservedly for all such incidents at UIG, and assures claimants that such conduct will not be repeated,” the court documents said. “This apology was not made with the strategic intention of minimizing the damage (MGN acknowledges that an apology at this stage would not have that effect), but because such behavior should never have occurred.”
The celebrity claims relate to a period between 1996 and 2011, which includes the period when media personality Piers Morgan, now a vocal critic of Prince Harry and his wife Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, served as editor of the Daily Mirror.
MGN has previously admitted that phone hacking has historically taken place at its papers, and it has settled the victims, Sky News reported.
The case was launched in 2019 and Harry is expected to testify in June. It alleged that Mirror Group journalists illegally collected information including phone hacking. Prince Harry’s legal team initially pointed to 144 articles that they said used illegally collected information. According to Sky News only 33 will be considered in the trial.
Harry and Meghan sued At least seven cases Against US and UK media outlets since 2019, according to Sky News, and Harry is currently involved in four lawsuits against UK tabloid newspapers. He is part of a group that has accused Associated Newspapers Ltd, which publishes The Daily Mail, and News Group Newspapers, which publishes The Sun tabloid, of illegal data collection.
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