After the UK high court awarded Prince Harry damages for phone hacking by Mirror Group Newspapers, Harry said the ruling was “vindicating and affirming.”
LONDON, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) — The high court in the United Kingdom (UK) ruled on Friday that Prince Harry was a victim of mobile phone hacking by Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN) and was awarded 140,600 British pounds (179,000 U.S. dollars) in damages.
Judge Timothy Fancourt awarded the Duke of Sussex damages for 15 out of the 33 articles in question at trial that were “the product of phone hacking” of Harry’s or his associates’ mobile phones, or “the product of other unlawful information gathering.”
Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle arrive at Westminster Abbey to attend the annual Commonwealth Service at Westminster Abbey on Commonwealth Day in London, Britain, March 9, 2020. (Photo by Ray Tang/Xinhua)
After the judgment, Harry said in a statement that the ruling was “vindicating and affirming.”
“I hope that the court’s findings will serve as a warning to all media organizations who have employed these practices and then similarly lied about them,” he said.
Harry was one of some 100 claimants who sued MGN, accusing the company of unlawful information gathering between 1991 and 2011.
MGN said in a statement after the judgment that they “apologize unreservedly” for “historical wrongdoing.”
“We welcome today’s judgment that gives the business the necessary clarity to move forward from events that took place many years ago,” a spokesperson for the group said. ■
