Extensive Phone Hacking by MGN

[Roussette]

So... Harry has won his case.

As lawyers are saying now... this is massive. 15 out of 33 accusations of hacking by Harry were upheld as a result of phone hacking and other illegal practices.
Hacking and blagging were even taking place during the Leveson enquiry.

He has won damages of £140,000 plus. And before this thread descends into Harry hate, please think of all the other claimants who have also had their claims upheld and damages awarded to them. They went through hell, medical records hacked and reported on, trackers on cars, phones hacked...

It's not about the money, it's about 'accountability of power'.

@lepapillon a great post doesn't include inaccuracies that have been corrected many times.

It must really annoy some people that Harry won this case, to the extent they chose to repeat falsehoods and defend tabloids as if they're some bastion of truth and uncovering important information. They're none of those things and anyone with any decency can see exactly what they are.

And it's no longer a hollow victory, just modest

@Myfabby It'll be non existent by the end of the day!

😂

Honestly loving this thread.

I am going to keep posting this, from the judgement, when the settlement offer comes up, sorry to annoy anyone but it saves a derail from those who keep repeating the same things:

MGN explained in case management conferences preceding this trial that it was now unwilling to settle claims because it wanted certain key issues to be decided by the court, which could have a significant effect on the way that other claims will then be settled.

MGN did not offer before or during trial. They offered while waiting for the judgement. The bulk of costs come from preparing for trial. Not from the day in court listening to the judgement.

Repost from the BBC, but it brings some 'common sense' from a journalist present at the trial:

There is little doubt the High Court ruling that Prince Harry was a victim of phone hacking by Mirror Group Newspapers on multiple occasions has huge implications.
The court has ruled that Prince Harry was hacked, as were his friends and associates. The case established that Mirror titles also used other unlawful methods to get information about him.
It raises questions. Firstly, will any criminal proceedings follow from it?
The Metropolitan Police has already said it will consider the judgment carefully. Clearly the burden of proof is higher in a criminal trial - but there is no doubt it is what Prince Harry wants.
What - if anything - will lead from the ruling that phone hacking was going on, even during the Leveson Inquiry which investigated the scandal? A government-appointed inquiry that was told by many senior newspaper executives they had no knowledge of this illegal behaviour.
Those executives include the former Mirror CEO Sly Bailey. On Friday the judge said she knew about what was happening.

So the “common sense” and “reasonable discussion” that everyone is back slapping each other about is people calling me “sad” & “bitter” for stating that the case & judgement was more nuanced than is being presented? That it’s actually a bit of this and a bit of that? Ok well we’ll agree to disagree on how exceptionally reasonable and common sense the tone here has been lol

If you think Harry has slayed the tabloids who will never be able to print anything you find poor taste again… well I’ll leave you to discover that particular disappointment for yourselves.

If you think Harry has slayed the tabloids who will never be able to print anything you find poor taste again… well I’ll leave you to discover that particular disappointment for yourselves.

I don't think anyone thinks that. I certainly don't. It's just the beginning. It needed highlighting. Onward and upward. More court cases to come.

As if he has put the tablloids out of business! It's what they exist for. It'll take more than Harry to get rid of them, but it is about a ground swell of opinion, different well known people have come out applauding the stance he took. But it is very early days indeed.

But as two or three publications succinctly put it...
In his continuing campaign to bring the press to account for phone hacking, the Duke of Sussex may succeed where Leveson’s inquiry failed

Your comments have seemed pretty moderate and sensible to me.

of course they did...

Totally agree.

The jubilation has been completely disproportionate to the outcome.

Someone even quoted Steve Coogan up thread, really scraping the barrel there.

I am not a fan of Steve Coogan, he’s a proper crank

No one quoted Steve Coogan, not that I know of. I did say that other well known people had come out supporting him.

So this has turned into a 'let's bash Steve Coogan' set of posts then.

The jubilation has been completely disproportionate to the outcome.

Call it what you will. If you can't stand him winning, it will be interpreted as jubilation to you.
We have discussed the case, that's all. And like other news sources and media have agreed that he did well. Like it or not. It's not just on this thread people saying this!

I could sit here until a week next Tuesday quoting very many sources talking of his win, but there would be a gnashing of teeth if I did!

This thread has mostly focused on the topic and on remaining factual and civil. I think its important to keep it that way. I have intentionally avoided threads I find unpleasant so I would hate for this thread to start down that track.

Please please please let that be the case. It's not a lot to ask, surely?

I, too, have intentionally avoided certain threads.

because the time constraints have come up in these civil trials, I was looking into Leveson and the Met investigation, and they were criticised for their closeness to some of the publications, and also for not informing people that were hacked.

That perception was made worse by revelations about expensive meals and champagne enjoyed by some senior officers during meetings with newspaper executives and journalists

"Even by November 2010, effective steps had not been taken to inform potential victims.

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2012/nov/29/leveson-report-criticises-met-police

'Call it what you will. If you can't stand him winning, it will be interpreted as jubilation to you.'

I don't mind at all, if 15 out of his 148 claims were found 'may or probably' were due to hacking. Good on all the other claimants too.

Again my point is the reaction is disproportionate. Good king Harry (yes said on here), the dragon slayer said by Harold himself. It's absolutely ott, laughable really.

Please go back and read an actual solicitor's view on it for some sense and perspective.

Once again, from the judgement, which I have linked previously:

There are 148 published articles on which the Duke of Sussex relies... In order to make the trial manageable within the 7 weeks allotted for it, a selection of 33 of Prince Harry's articles was agreed by the parties as a representative sample

There remains 115 articles not yet looked at concerning Prince Harry.