Harry and others 'long way off' proving hacking claims, Mirror publisher says

The Duke of Sussex and different personage claimants are a "long mode off" proving Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN) unlawfully gathered accusation connected them, the steadfast has told a court.

Prince Harry is among high-profile figures accusing MGN of assorted illicit practices, including telephone hacking.

Andrew Green KC, representing MGN, said grounds was "slim" successful immoderate areas and "utterly non-existent" successful others.

He spoke connected time 3 of a highly anticipated proceeding astatine the High Court.

MGN, which publishes the Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror and Sunday People newspapers, vehemently denies the allegations.

Opening the lawsuit for the steadfast connected Friday, Mr Green compared it to 1 successful 2015 wherever MGN conceded that its journalists had regularly utilized unlawful techniques to get backstage accusation - and was ordered to wage retired damages totalling £1.25m.

He said unlawful accusation gathering had been admitted past due to the fact that determination was "direct evidence... from Dan Evans [a erstwhile Sunday Mirror journalist]" that it had happened.

Mr Evans "has not said helium hacked immoderate of (the claimants)" this clip around, Mr Green added.

"The grounds successful this lawsuit is slim successful narration to 1 of the claimants and utterly non-existent for the different three," helium told the court, arguing their allegations had been made with "no basis" and "a consciousness of outrage".

Mr Green besides took purpose astatine the paper articles submitted arsenic grounds of illicit newsgathering, saying they offered a "breathtaking level of triviality".

Some 207 stories, published betwixt 1991 and 2011, marque up the bulk of the case's evidence. More than 60% of them are astir Harry, Duke of Sussex.

As good arsenic voicemail interception, Harry and the different claimants person accused MGN of utilizing backstage investigators to illegally stitchery details astir them successful bid to constitute stories.

David Sherborne, representing the claimants, said connected Friday that MGN's ineligible section knew "from adjacent the astir basal investigation" that unlawful practices were taking spot by journalists.

He besides accused the institution of a "cover up", claiming committee meetings took spot to sermon the publisher's liability, but "despite that, determination is not a azygous enactment from immoderate specified meeting".

In response, Mr Green accused claimants of "smearing" elder MGN figures by accusing the committee of lying to screen up immoderate hacking, and said determination had been "extreme allegations of dishonesty".

Harry is among 4 radical whose claims are being heard successful the trial, expected to past up to 7 weeks, arsenic "representative" cases of the types of allegations facing the publisher. They volition besides assistance the tribunal acceptable the level of damages MGN should wage if the claimants win.

Others progressive are Coronation Street actors Nikki Sanderson and Michael Turner, known by his signifier sanction Michael Le Vell, and comedian Paul Whitehouse's ex-wife Fiona Wightman.

The publisher's lawyers said that Ms Sanderson and Ms Wightman person tally retired of clip to writer for damages, due to the fact that these types of claims should beryllium brought wrong six years of the alleged unfortunate knowing what happened.

The lawyers said telephone hacking has been talked astir for astatine slightest 20 years, with the Mirror Group publically apologising for its portion successful the ungraded successful 2014.

Therefore, immoderate imaginable victims should person known agelong agone to get a lawsuit started, MGN's lawyers argued.

But the claimants said that MGN did specified a bully occupation successful covering up wrongdoing for truthful long, that tenable radical simply could not person known oregon suspected the truth.

Depending connected the result of this case, the tribunal could past see cases from a scope of celebrities including erstwhile Girls Aloud vocalist Cheryl and erstwhile Arsenal and England footballer Ian Wright.

During Thursday's hearing, the claimant's lawyer told the tribunal that 1 of the most "serious and troubling" features of the lawsuit was the grade to which "widespread, habitual and unlawful" activities were "authorised astatine the highest level" of MGN.

This included "the systemic and wide usage of PIs (private investigators) by MGN journalists to unlawfully get backstage information" of assorted individuals, Mr Sherborne said.

He referred the tribunal to cardinal elder MGN figures who helium claimed "authorised" the unlawful obtaining of information.

He said this included erstwhile editors Piers Morgan, Neil Wallis, Tina Weaver, Mark Thomas, Richard Wallace and Bridget Rowe, and alleged that managing editors and elder executives besides knew.

"Mr Morgan was close astatine the bosom of this successful galore ways," Mr Sherborne told the court.

"He was a hands-on exertion and was adjacent to the board. We person the nonstop engagement of Mr Morgan successful a fig of these incidents."

Mr Morgan, who edited the Mirror from 1995 until 2004, has repeatedly denied immoderate cognition of unlawful accusation gathering happening nether his ticker - successful peculiar telephone hacking.

Approached by an ITV News camera unit connected Wednesday - the time the proceedings began - Mr Morgan was asked if helium would apologise to Harry implicit the claims being made successful court.

The erstwhile Good Morning Britain big was filmed saying helium would not "take lectures connected privateness penetration from Prince Harry, idiosyncratic who has spent the past 3 years ruthlessly and cynically invading the Royal Family's privateness for immense commercialized gain".

The proceedings volition proceed connected Monday.