Prince Harry case: Privacy cases had 'catastrophic effects' on Mirror Group

Previous privateness cases brought against Mirror newspapers person had "catastrophic effects" connected its publisher, the High Court has heard.

In closing submissions successful Prince Harry's privateness case, a barrister for Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN) said it was facing "rocket-propelled litigation" aft losing a erstwhile case.

The steadfast claimed to person paid much than £100m successful damages and ineligible costs.

Andrew Green KC said Prince Harry's lawsuit was "entirely speculative".

He admitted the actions of journalists successful the past had been "reprehensible" but existent claims had been "wildly overstated."

The Duke of Sussex's lawsuit had not identified a azygous illustration of his telephone being hacked, helium said.

Mr Green said the prince had been persuaded to writer aft gathering the barrister David Sherborne astatine a summertime enactment hosted by Elton John successful the southbound of France and asking however helium could bring to an extremity his harassment by the press.

Despite claiming successful tribunal helium had suffered semipermanent distress astatine stories written astir him, helium besides had not work "virtually immoderate of the articles astatine the time," the barrister said.

The existent proceedings follows a erstwhile landmark judgement successful 2015 successful a lawsuit brought by the Coronation Street histrion Shobna Gulati and different well-known people.

This recovered grounds of "widespread, institutionalised and long-standing" telephone hacking astatine the Mirror newspapers.

Andrew Green accepted this judgement had been "excoriating" and that MGN had admitted liability for overmuch of what happened.

But helium went connected to reason that it had led to salient radical who had successfully made claims telling their friends they should spell and spot solicitors.

The 2015 lawsuit had been based connected beardown evidence, including the accounts of whistleblowing journalists and telephone telephone records, helium said.

But the latest lawsuit was truthful "formulaic" that a connection of the interaction of property intrusion connected Prince Harry had wrongly utilized the connection "she" alternatively of "he".

The claims had been "cut and pasted without immoderate existent thought", helium said.

Mr Green besides criticised the relation of the erstwhile writer Graham Johnson who was convicted of telephone hacking and has present switched sides to assistance those taking connected the newspapers.

He had written stories connected his ain website to make a "shop window" for lawyers wanting to writer successful privateness cases.

There was thing "improper" successful this, Mr Green said, but it raised doubts astir the reliability of his evidence.

The Duke of Sussex is 1 of 4 claimants, the others are the Coronation Street actors Nikki Sanderson and Michael Turner, and Fiona Wightman the ex-wife of the comedian Paul Whitehouse.

They person been enactment guardant arsenic trial cases by lawyers attempting to widen the ineligible conflict against MGN pursuing the palmy 2015 case.

However Andrew Green said speech from Prince Harry, determination were besides fatal weaknesses successful the different 3 cases.

He said determination was a full lack of immoderate documentary grounds Fiona Wightman's telephone had been hacked, and if it had, stories astir her would person been much close than they were.

Ms Wightman became the taxable of property involvement due to the fact that of the illness of her matrimony to Paul Whitehouse, and her crab diagnosis successful 2000.

Mr Green did judge that determination were documents suggesting an effort was made to transportation retired "two reprehensible blags" to get her aesculapian records by a backstage investigator, Christine Hart, paid by MGN.

He said Fiona Whiteman should person "a fraction" of the damages she is asking for.

Nikki Sanderson, who played the hairdresser Candice Stowe successful Coronation Street, is suing for property intrusion relating to dozens of paper stories.

She was "making a assertion for hacking from 1999 to 2003 erstwhile she present couldn't retrieve her telephone numbers during that 4 twelvemonth period," Andrew Green told the judge, Mr Justice Fancourt.

In the lawsuit of Michael Turner who played Kevin Webster, a mechanic, connected Coronation Street, determination was nary grounds journalists had his fig and payments to backstage investigators appeared to subordinate to a antithetic person, besides called Mike Turner.

The tribunal heard determination were much than 100 claims waiting successful the wings should these succeed.

MGN, a institution valued astatine little than £250m has present paid £105m successful damages and ineligible costs.

Following last submissions the lawsuit finishes this week but the judgement is expected to instrumentality months.