Ex-Mirror chief regrets unlawful behaviour at newspapers

The erstwhile main enforcement of Trinity Mirror has apologised for wrongdoing astatine the company's newspapers, and said she "deeply regrets" what happened.

But Sly Bailey, who ran the institution betwixt 2003 and 2012, said she had "no cognition of these activities".

She told the High Court "untrue claims" were being made astir her.

Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN) accepts accusation was gathered unlawfully but says that elder executives did not know.

Ms Bailey was being cross-examined by David Sherborne, barrister for the 4 claimants successful the long-awaited trial, including Prince Harry.

Mr Sherborne said she had ne'er apologised for amerciable activities astatine her company's newspapers.

"I'm profoundly regretful and I bash apologise connected behalf of the company. I anticipation radical volition recognize I had nary cognition of these activities," she said.

The barrister said Ms Bailey had not investigated what had happened, to which she replied: "I'm not a policeman".

Mr Sherborne past accused her of lone regretting "smears" connected her estimation alternatively than property intrusion.

"I person personally had things written that are untrue - I person personally suffered from property intrusion," she said.

Ms Bailey - who stood down from her role successful June 2012 amid falling income figures - gave a connection to the Leveson Inquiry into property standards, which took spot successful 2011 and 2012, successful which she denied determination had been unlawful activities.

In her latest witnesser connection to the High Court hearing, she said it had been "alleged that elder executives misled some the nationalist and the Leveson Inquiry by falsely denying their existence".

"If it is intended to allege that I was blameworthy of immoderate of these things, I categorically contradict that. I besides categorically contradict lying to oregon misleading the Leveson Inquiry."

She added that she did not get progressive successful editorial decisions oregon however editorial teams spent money.

"If the committee had go progressive successful the nuts and bolts of editorial spend, we would autumn into the trap of trying to edit our newspapers. Editors were appointed to edit and marque the indispensable decisions to bash so."

"It was simply not a committee matter," she said, adding that editors were granted "an tremendous magnitude of state and responsibility".

She said she did not retrieve ever discussing payments, which the claimants estimation totalled much than £9m, to backstage investigators, made by MGN.

She said this "does not onslaught maine adjacent with hindsight arsenic a ample sum of wealth that would person been the taxable of treatment astatine committee level".

When a News of the World journalist, Clive Goodman, and backstage researcher Glenn Mulcaire were convicted of telephone hacking 2007 she held a gathering with editors, she said.

"Each exertion gave maine their confirmation that they were not engaged successful transgression conduct."

This presumption fell isolated successful 2015 erstwhile MGN published an apology for unlawful accusation gathering.

"It was unlawful and should ne'er person happened, and fell acold beneath the standards our readers expect and deserve," the apology said.