United Kingdom: a tabloid apologizes to Pince Harry during his trial

The British tabloid The Mirror, accused by Prince Harry and other celebrities of collecting information illegally, apologized at the opening of his trial on Wednesday, May 10 in London.

The youngest son of King Charles III, cold with his family, has embarked on a war against the tabloid press, multiplying prosecutions against the tabloids.

Accused of hacking

The hearing that opened Wednesday morning targets the Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN), which publishes The Mirror, Sunday Mirror and Sunday People. But the Duke of Sussex also attacked the publisher of the Daily Mail and News Group Newspapers (NGN), publisher of the Sun in particular. The trial against the publisher of the Mirror, in the High Court in London, is expected to last several weeks. The group is accused of phone hacking. In addition to Prince Harry, several personalities, including singer Cheryl of the group Girls Aloud, actor Ricky Tomlinson and ex-footballer Ian Wright, have filed lawsuits.

See alsoPrince Harry goes to war against the British tabloids

In documents made public at the beginning of the hearing, MGN admitted the existence of "some evidence" of illegal information gathering. He apologized "unreservedly" and promised that this situation "will never happen again." MGN's lawyer Andrew Green, however, denied the accusations of intercepting voicemails. He also brushed aside some of the accusations that it was ancient history, which no longer fell under the law. The prosecutions cover a period from 1995 to 2011.

In-person testimonial in June

Harry, who left the UK with a bang in 2020 with his American wife Meghan, is expected to testify in June in person, according to British media. Already at the end of March, he created a surprise by appearing at a hearing against the publisher of the Daily Mail, also accused of having collected information illegally, including by illegal interceptions of voice messages and telephone tapping. Singer Elton John also appeared before the court.

Moreover, in April, during a hearing against News Group Newspapers (NGN), the publisher of the late Sun and News of the World, Prince Harry's lawyers revealed that his brother William, the heir to the throne, with whom he has a notoriously degraded relationship, "recently" reached an agreement with this media group "behind the scenes". ». Prince Harry holds the tabloids responsible for the death of his mother Diana in a car accident in 1997 in Paris while she was being chased by paparazzi. He also denounced the treatment of his wife by British newspapers. This trial began four days after the coronation of Charles III, which Harry attended without a wife and children. He quickly returned to the United States after the ceremony in Westminster.