World News

Prince Harry wins 'substantial' settlement in Mirror Group hacking case

By Clyde Hughes   |   Feb. 9, 2024 at 10:42 AM
Prince Harry won a "substantial" settlement Friday as he reached an agreement with the Mirror News Group on phone hacking claims. File Photo by Hugo Philpott/UPI

Feb. 9 (UPI) -- Prince Harry on Friday reached a settlement on a series of lingering phone-hacking claims against the Mirror News Group.

Harry's attorneys told Britain's High Court that the publisher had agreed to settle the remaining charges and award the duke of Sussex "substantial" additional damages.

Advertising
Advertising

Attorney David Sherborne said the group would make an interim payment of $505,000 as well as "all of the costs of his claim, including individual and common costs."

"Everything we said was happening at Mirror Group was in fact happening and indeed far worse as the court ruled in its extremely damaging judgment," said

In December, the High Court sided with the prince on 15 of 33 news articles in question, ruling that information from them came from "extensive" phone hacking and other illegal methods. The articles ran from 2006 through 2011.

Harry's legal team called out ex-Mirror editor Pier Morgan, whom he has a running feud with, saying he knew "perfectly well what was going on" at the outlet.

"Even his own employer realized it simply could not call him as a witness of truth," Sherborne said as part of the prince's statement. "His contempt for the court's ruling and his continued attacks ever since demonstrate why it was so important to obtain a clear and detailed judgment."

Prince Harry did not attend the hearing on Friday, making a surprise appearance at the NFL Honors event in Las Vegas on Thursday night. He had been in Britain this week to be by the side of his father, King Charles III, after his cancer diagnosis.

A Mirror spokesperson issued a statement saying that the publisher wishes to move on from the court battle with the royal.

"We are pleased to have reached an agreement, which gives our business further clarity to move forward from events that took place many years ago and for which we have apologized."