Piers Morgan aware of phone hacking when at the Mirror, high court hears
The scale and extent of the unlawful methods were used so frequently they were an integral part of their modus operandi, the obvious go to for every story, Sherborne says.
Journalists, desk heads, deputy editors and editors themselves, including Piers Morgan, used or ordered the use of, the unlawful means, Sherborne says.
Key events
The hearing is paused for lunch and will resume at 2pm.
Mirror Group accused in court of leaving ‘morality at the door’ when gathering information
Sherborne says the risks taken to gather information unlawfully were “worth it” for the Mirror Group, adding they “left morality at the door”.
MGN took risks not just for celebrities but for other people who were well known for other reasons, Sherborne says.
He gives examples of documents such as invoices connected to the murder victims Millie Dowler and the Soham girls, Jessica Chapman and Holly Wells and the bus driver of the 7/7 bombings bus.
Mirror Group Newspapers used ‘blagger’ to obtain details about post-natal depression of TV presenter, court hears
MGN made extensive use of the blagger, Christine Hart in order to obtain highly personal and sensitive medical information through blagging GP surgeries, clinics and hospitals, Sherborne says.
This included her obtaining information about the post-natal depression of a famous female television presenter, who has since passed away, he says.
Hart was also used to obtain information about whether the wife of a television comedian was pregnant, about a well-known pop star entering rehab for alcohol and drug addiction and about a football manager having therapy, Sherborne says.
Sherborne gives another example of Steve Whittamore of JJ Services, who despite his being raided by police in 2003, his arrest in 2004 and conviction in April 2005, was used by MGN to unlawfully obtain private information, by the Daily Mirror until at least December 2005 and by The People until at least October 2006.
Whittamore provided information that Sherborne says no one could have thought was legally obtained.
Sherborne says MGN continued to use the “notorious” Southern Investigations, whose founder Jonathan Rees was arrested and later convicted in 1999.
Sherborne says those at the Mirror Group, including Piers Morgan, must have known Southern Investigations was using unlawful methods to gather information.
The Mirror Group Newspapers continued to use private investigators even though they had been previously convicted for illegally obtaining private information, Sherborne says.
He gives the example of Rachel Barry who despite being convicted in October 1997 for blagging mobile phone bills and obtaining ex-directory phone numbers for newspapers was continually used by MGN including by the Daily Mirror, the day after her conviction, including in relation to Princess Diana’s friend James Hewitt.
Sherborne refers to an email exchange dates 2002 in which editorial manager John Honeywell notes the “frightening” level of costs spent on private investigator services.
Spending millions only makes sense if you’re profiting from the exercise, Sherborne says.
It was not for public interest, it was to sell newspapers, he says.
Sherborne is going through a number of “exchanges” between management at Mirror Group Newspapers and others which he says demonstrates their extensive knowledge of the use of private investigators.
Some of the memos make reference to “illicit” checks, Sherborne says.
The court is taking a short break.
Piers Morgan aware of phone hacking when at the Mirror, high court hears
The scale and extent of the unlawful methods were used so frequently they were an integral part of their modus operandi, the obvious go to for every story, Sherborne says.
Journalists, desk heads, deputy editors and editors themselves, including Piers Morgan, used or ordered the use of, the unlawful means, Sherborne says.
Mirror Group Newspapers accused of ‘flood of illegality’
The claimants represent a cross-section of claimants but all have one thing in common – they are all victims of unlawful activities which were widespread, Sherborne says.
The activities were known about by the legal department and the Mirror Group’s board, Sherborne says.
Unlawful information gathering was both habitual and widespread across all three of the MGN titles from 1991 to 2011, Sherborne says.
Journalists working on news, nrime, investigations, showbiz, TV, features, picture and sports desks all took part in the unlawful activities, Sherborne says, as well as editors and deputy editors.
It was a flood of illegality, Sherborne says.
The group of victims also contains those caught up in a newsworthy event or were linked to someone of interest.
Fiona Wightman is the final claimant, she is the ex-wife of the comedian Paul Whitehouse and mother of their two children.
The idea that she is a victim of hacking is surreal to her, Sherborne says.
Among methods of targeting Wightman were attempts to “blag” hospitals into providing hospital records about her health, Sherborne says.
The second of the claimants was Michael Turner, one of the longest-serving actors on Coronation Street, known by his stage name Michael Le Vell, who plays the character Kevin Webster on the soap.
Sherborne tells the court stories about the trials and tribulations of Turner’s life were splashed across the Mirror Group newspapers.
Turner is not the only actor among the four claimants, Sherborne says.
The third claimant is Nikki Sanderson, who played a character called Candice in Coronation Street. She was just 15 years old when the Mirror Group Newspapers started to target her, he says.
Sherborne presents an invoice from the “notorious” Southern Investigations, a private detective agency, to the Mirror Group accounts department in relation to Sanderson’s claim.
Ordered by the Mirror’s features desk, the invoice from Southern Investigations are dated 30 March 1999 two days after Sanderson turned 15 years old
Her tenders age was no protection to her, Sherborne Says. Regardless of the impact this had on her, this was just the first we know of the disclosed private investigator instructions related to her.
David Sherborne, the barrister representing Prince Harry and others involved in the claim, is now formally opening the case.
He is outlining the claimants in the case, and who they are and what their claims broadly cover.
The first is the Duke of Sussex, he says. Harry was subjected to the most obtrusive methods to gain information about his life, he says.
Prince or not, the blatantly unlawful methods used to get information about Harry’s life away from his royal duties was quite frankly appalling, Sherborne says.
All the claimants were subjected to the same methods, Sherborne says.
Jim Waterson
Prince Harry will not be in court for the start of the Mirror trial, which will last between six or seven weeks.
The prince flew back to the US immediately after attending his father’s coronation on Saturday but is scheduled to give evidence in person at the start of June.
The initial stages of this trial will deal with broad issues around the extent and knowledge of phone hacking at the Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror, and People – all titles owned by Mirror Group Newspapers, part of the publishing group Reach.
The company has already paid out more than £100m in settlements and legal fees relating to phone hacking at its titles, with a further £50m set aside to deal with future accusations.
The Mirror’s publisher is trying to stop the ongoing tide of phone hacking claims, which largely relate to alleged illegal behaviour in the 2000s. They argue the claimants have waited too long to start their cases and want a judge to rule that proceedings should come to an end.
Mirror Group Newspapers phone-hacking trial begins
Good morning, welcome to the Guardian’s live coverage of phone hacking claims against Mirror Group Newspapers at the High Court in London.
The case is attracting high levels of interest in part because one of the claimants is Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex and later in the litigation he is expected to become the first senior royal since the 19th century to give evidence in a courtroom.
This is the first of Harry’s three phone-hacking cases against British newspaper groups to go to trial, with the royal waiting to hear whether the courts will allow him to proceed with two separate cases against the parent companies of the Sun and the Daily Mail.
Before proceedings begin, get up to speed with this state of play by our media editor Jim Waterson:
