A judge has ruled that “extensive” phone hacking and unlawful information gathering took place at Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN) from the mid-1990s until 2011.
Evidence of both illegal techniques were found in Prince Harry’s case, as well as Coronation Street star Michael Le Vell’s.
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Le Vell’s former co-star, Hollyoaks actress Nikki Sanderson, and Fiona Wightman, the ex-wife of comedian Paul Whitehouse, were also found to have valid cases – but they were dismissed because they were filed six years too late.
Here are some of the court’s key findings:
Unlawful information gathering and phone hacking at Mirror Group in general between 1991 and 2011
• There was “some” unlawful activity” at MGN in 1995;
• But unlawful information gathering was “widespread” at all three papers – the Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror, and Sunday People, from 1996 onwards;
• Phone hacking started in 1996 and “became widespread and habitual” from 1998;
• But nothing was proved on phone hacking at MGN between 1991 and 1994;
• Between 2006 and 2011, unlawful information gathering and phone hacking continued;
• Phone hacking “remained an important tool for the kind of journalism being practised” by all three papers between 2006 and 2011;
• This included when the Leveson Inquiry into press intrusion was ongoing;
• Phone hacking was “still extensive” between 2006 and 2011 but done “in a more controlled way… and not as habitually” as before August 2006;
• Unlawful information gathering involving private investigators reduced between 2006 and 2011 compared to before, but was still done throughout that period.
Prince Harry’s case
• Fifteen out of 33 articles the Duke of Sussex complained about were the product of hacking of his or his associates’ phones and unlawful information gathering;
• Prince Harry’s phone “was only hacked to a modest extent” from the end of 2003 to April 2009;
• Eighteen articles he complained about “did not stand up to careful analysis”;
• A “number” of invoices for private investigators provide evidence of unlawful activity in relation to the Duke of Sussex;
• Damages of £140,600 were awarded – not just for unlawful activity but for the “particular hurt and sense of outrage the Duke feels” because two directors “knew about the illegal activity and could have put a stop to it”, and instead they “turned a blind eye to what was going on and positively concealed it”;
• However, MGN “only played a small part in everything the Duke suffered” in relation to press intrusion and unlawful activity.
Michael Turner (also known as Michael Le Vell)
• Voicemail interception and unlawful information gathering was used to a “limited extent” in Michael Le Vell’s case;
• This was because “his personal life was not considered to be of great interest to Mirror Group readers”, in contrast with his Coronation Street co-star Sanderson;
• But this changed in 2011 when he was arrested;
• Therefore, four of the 27 articles he complained about were obtained through illegal means;
• He is awarded £31,650 in damages.
Nikki Sanderson and Fiona Wightman’s cases dismissed
• As Sanderson brought her case on 7 December 2020, it is dismissed as out of time because the limitation period ended on 7 December 2014;
• Similarly, Wightman brought her case on 30 July 2021, so her case has been out of time since 30 July 2015;
• Regardless, nine out of 37 of the articles Sanderson complained about had evidence of unlawful activity;
• And one of Wightman’s articles and 15 of the private investigator invoices she complained about also met the threshold for unlawful activity.
Omid Scobie
• The Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s unofficial biographer was a student journalist with the Daily Mirror’s showbiz team and the Sunday People during some of this period;
• He said he was “given a list of mobile phone numbers and a detailed verbal description of how to listen to voicemails… as if it were a standard newsgathering technique”;
• Scobie claimed that once Piers Morgan asked about a story about Kylie Minogue and James Gooding, which was later published on 11 May 2022 with the byline James Scott;
• He said Mr Morgan was told the team was confident about the veracity of the story because it was done via phone hacking;
• There is an invoice dated 7 May 2002 for Mr Scott for “extensive enquiries carried out on your behalf”;
• Minogue and Gooding’s phone numbers were also in Mr Scott’s palm pilot device;
• The judge ruled Scobie a “reliable witness” and said he accepts what he said about Mr Morgan’s involvement in the Minogue/Gooding story.
