Prince Harry surrounded by 'web of unlawful activity', court hears

Unlawful information-gathering "acted similar a web" astir Prince Harry, a tribunal has heard during his proceedings against Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN).

His barrister told London's High Court nary facet of his younker was harmless from property intrusion - citing stories astir his narration with Chelsy Davy appearing successful the Mirror.

Harry is claiming MGN journalists utilized unlawful methods to stitchery information, including telephone hacking.

MGN denies telephone hacking successful this case.

Making his opening code for the prince, barrister David Sherborne, who is besides representing 3 different people, said: "These methods acted similar a web astir the prince successful the anticipation it would drawback the invaluable accusation that they sought done these unlawful means, immoderate of which made it successful stories."

"The ups and downs and ins and outs of their relationship, the beginning, the break-ups and yet the divided betwixt them were each revealed and picked isolated by the 3 Mirror Group titles," Mr Sherborne continued, saying this was "clearly driven by unlawful activity".

He told the tribunal a communicative published by the People successful April 2005 elaborate the prince's telephone calls to her.

"It was arsenic if they were ne'er alone," helium added.

Mr Sherborne suggested the stories led to the couple's ellipse of friends becoming "smaller and smaller" owed to them suspecting friends of leaking to newspapers, but helium accepted that determination is small nonstop grounds of unlawful methods being utilized to get stories similar this.

At the bosom of the lawsuit are 207 paper stories published betwixt 1991 and 2011 - immoderate 67% of which written astir Harry.

This incidental does not signifier portion of the duke's assertion for breach of privacy.

David Sherborne told the tribunal connected Monday the proposition that determination was lone 1 lawsuit of unlawful information-gathering was "plainly implausible", arguing it would person happened connected "multiple occasions".

He said "every facet" of his beingness was splashed crossed the papers and it would person been "obvious" stories astir his backstage beingness were driving income for MGN.

But Andrew Green KC, representing MGN, said determination was nary grounds to enactment claims by the prince.

Summarising MGN's defence, Mr Green said determination was nary information showing that Harry had been hacked, "still little connected a habitual basis".

Mr Green said nary of the whistle-blowing journalists who person travel guardant admitting telephone hacking said they had hacked the prince's phone.

"There's nary grounds to enactment a uncovering that immoderate mobile telephone owned oregon utilized by the Duke of Sussex was hacked. Zilch, Zero, Nil, De Nada, Niente, Nothing," helium said.

Earlier, the justice successful the case, Mr Justice Fancourt, said helium was a "little surprised" to perceive the duke would not beryllium attending tribunal connected Monday.

He had fixed an earlier absorption that witnesses should beryllium disposable connected the archetypal time of their idiosyncratic lawsuit successful lawsuit determination was clip to springiness evidence.

Mr Green, for MGN, accused the prince's broadside of "wasting time", saying it was "absolutely bonzer we were told conscionable past week that helium is not disposable for time 1 of his ain trial".

Mr Sherborne said Harry had flown successful from Los Angeles aft his daughter's birthday, and added: "He is successful a antithetic class from the 3 different claimants owed to his question and information arrangements."

Nearly fractional of the nationalist conception of the tribunal emptied aft confirmation helium would not beryllium appearing connected Monday.

Alongside the duke, Coronation Street actors Michael Turner - known professionally arsenic Michael Le Vell - and Nikki Sanderson, arsenic good arsenic Fiona Wightman, the ex-wife of the comedian Paul Whitehouse, person besides brought claims against the publisher.

The claimants reason elder executives indispensable person known astir unlawful accusation gathering down these stories and failed to halt it, which MGN denies.