It's rare enough to be noticed. British tabloid The Mirror, accused by Prince Harry and other celebrities of illegally gathering information, apologized at the opening of its trial Wednesday in London. In documents made public at the beginning of the hearing, MGN (Mirror Group Newspapers) admitted the existence of "some evidence" of illegal collection of information. He apologized "unreservedly" and promised that this situation "will never happen again."
The youngest son of King Charles III, cold with his family, has embarked on a war against the tabloid press, by multiplying legal proceedings. The hearing that opened targets the MGN group, which publishes The Mirror, Sunday Mirror and Sunday People, among others. But the Duke of Sussex also attacked the publisher of the Daily Mail as well as News Group Newspapers (NGN), publisher of the Sun.
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. Apart from Prince Harry, several personalities, including singer Cheryl of the group Girls Aloud, actor Ricky Tomlinson and ex-footballer Ian Wright, have filed lawsuits.
"Ancient history"
MGN's lawyer, however, denied the accusations of interception of 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.
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, intercepting voice messages and telephone tapping.
BREAKING: Prince Harry has arrived at the High Court ahead of a court case against The Daily Mail newspaperhttps://t.co/AQ6e97MgAq
đź“ş Sky 501, Virgin 602, Freeview 233 and YouTube pic.twitter.com/d7XRXddufl
— Sky News (@SkyNews) March 27, 2023
His brother William, the heir to the throne, would have "recently" reached an agreement with this media group "behind the scenes", revealed in April the lawyers of Prince Harry.
The latter holds the tabloid press responsible for the death of his mother Diana in a car accident in 1997 in Paris while she was being pursued by paparazzi. He also denounced the treatment meted out to his wife in 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.
