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Prince Harry's out of court deal with publisher who hacked his phone: Details
Mirror Group Newspapers agreed to pay Prince Harry’s legal costs and would make an interim payment of 400,000 pounds ($505,000).
Prince Harry reached an out-of-court settlement with UK tabloid newspaper publisher Mirror Group Newspapers that invaded his privacy with phone hacking and other illegal snooping tools, the Duke of Sussex' lawyer said.
Mirror Group Newspapers agreed to pay Prince Harry’s legal costs and would make an interim payment of 400,000 pounds ($505,000), he said. Prince Harry awarded 140,000 pounds ($177,000) in damages in December after a court ruled that Mirror Group Newspapers used phone hacking in the 1990s while that executives at the papers covered it up. The court then said that Prince Harry’s phone was hacked “to a modest extent.”
What Prince Harry said on the case
Prince Harry said in a statement read by his lawyer that “everything we said was happening at Mirror Group was in fact happening, and indeed far worse as the Court ruled in its extremely damning judgement. In light of all this, we call again for the authorities to uphold the rule of law and to prove that no one is above it. That includes Mr Morgan, who as editor, knew perfectly well what was going on, as the judge held.”
“His contempt for the court’s ruling and his continued attacks ever since demonstrate why it was so important to obtain a clear and detailed judgment,” the statement added.
Read more: Prince Harry’s meet with King Charles ‘lasted 12 minutes’: ‘Was it for Netflix?'
What Mirror Group said on Prince Harry's case
Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN) issued a statement in response to its settlement with Prince Harry, saying, "We welcomed December’s judgment that gave the business the necessary clarity to move forward from events that took place many years ago. Where historical wrongdoing took place, we apologise unreservedly, have taken full responsibility and paid compensation.”
A spokesman for the publisher further added as per BBC, "We are pleased to have reached this agreement, which gives our business further clarity to move forward from events that took place many years ago and for which we have apologised.”
Prince Harry's cases against UK media
Prince Harry’s case against Mirror Group is one of several that he has launched in a campaign against the UK media. The Duke of Sussex has blamed the UK press for snooping on him and hounding his late mother Princess Diana and his wife Meghan Markle.
In June last year, Prince Harry became the first senior royal family member to testify in court during the trial against Mirror Group. He still has ongoing cases against the publishers of The Sun and Daily Mail over allegations of unlawful snooping.
