Piers Morgan was told story was from voicemails, court hears

Piers Morgan was told a Daily Mirror communicative astir Kylie Minogue was obtained from voicemails during his clip arsenic the paper's editor, a tribunal has heard.

Omid Scobie, who wrote a publication astir Prince Harry, says helium heard the speech portion an intern successful 2002.

Mr Morgan has ever denied cognition of immoderate telephone hacking.

Prince Harry is among a radical accusing Mirror Group Newspapers of unlawful information-gathering. The paper radical is contesting the claims.

MGN denies elder executives astatine the steadfast of Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror and Sunday People knew astir the practices and failed to halt them.

It is alleged that journalists from the newspapers obtained backstage and confidential accusation astir people's lives done a assortment of unlawful means betwixt 1991 and 2011 - including accessing voicemail messages connected their phones.

Mr Scobie was called to springiness grounds connected time 4 of a High Court lawsuit brought against MGN.

The tribunal heard that arsenic a journalism student, Mr Scobie spent a week astatine the Sunday People wherever helium claims helium was fixed "a database of mobile numbers followed by a elaborate verbal statement of however to perceive to voicemails, arsenic if it were a regular newsgathering technique".

In a written witnesser connection describing enactment acquisition astatine the Daily Mirror successful the outpouring of 2002, the royal commentator "recalls during 1 of those days successful the bureau the editor, Piers Morgan, came implicit to speech to idiosyncratic astir a communicative relating to Kylie Minogue and her [then] fellow James Gooding".

"Mr Morgan was asking however assured they were successful the reporting and was told that the accusation had travel from voicemails," the connection adds.

"I callback being amazed to perceive this astatine the time, which is wherefore it stuck successful my mind."

The tribunal was besides told determination is an invoice from a backstage researcher steadfast for £170, addressed to a showbiz writer astatine the paper, for "K Minogue".

Mirror Group Newspapers is contesting the cases and has said determination is "no evidence, oregon nary capable evidence, of voicemail interception" successful immoderate of the 4 claims chosen arsenic "representative" cases.

Andrew Green KC, for the group, accused Mr Scobie of "a mendacious memory" and being a mouthpiece for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, aft co-authoring a publication astir them - Finding Freedom.

Mr Scobie denied having a "vested interest" successful helping Prince Harry.

"What I americium doing close present is giving ammunition to the tabloids to proceed calling maine his friend," Mr Scobie told the court.

The royal analogous said helium did not person Prince Harry's mobile number, adding: "I americium a subordinate of the property trying to bash my job... what I americium doing contiguous is making my beingness much difficult."

Returning to Mr Scobie's enactment acquisition astatine MGN, Mr Green went connected to suggest it was "somewhat implausible" that a pupil intern, who was lone astatine the insubstantial for astir a week, would person been asked to hack phones.

Mr Scobie replied: "I was not a alien to this [journalist], I had already met them astatine immoderate events, I knew them done different person.

"The connection hack was not used... this was conscionable a writer telling maine however to bash something."

Mr Scobie said: "It felt wrong. In the infinitesimal you conscionable beryllium determination and listen, it's lone arsenic it sinks successful that it does not consciousness right."

He said helium did not hack immoderate phones.

Prince Harry is expected to springiness grounds astatine the proceedings successful June. He among 4 radical whose claims are being heard successful the proceedings 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.