Prince Harry trial: What were the articles at the centre of the Duke of Sussex hacking trial?
At the centre of Prince Harry’s High Court battle with Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN) were a selection of 33 articles dated between 1996 and 2009.
The stories, published in the Daily Mirror, the Sunday Mirror and the People, covered the Duke of Sussex’s relationship with his family and ex-girlfriend Chelsy Davy, his military service, injuries and illnesses, and allegations of drug use.
Mr Justice Fancourt found that 15 out of the 33 articles were the product of phone hacking or other unlawful information gathering.
Follow latest: Prince Harry v Mirror group
The judge said Harry’s phone was “hacked to a modest extent”, which was probably “carefully controlled by certain people at each newspaper” and happened on occasions from about the end of 2003 to April 2009.
Drugs allegations
The judge found articles relating to Harry’s alleged drug taking had likely been the product of unlawful information gathering.
“Harry took drugs” and “Cool it Harry” – Sunday Mirror on 13 January 2002
Harry said that whilst this article, which contained allegations he had smoked cannabis, was a follow-up to stories in the News of the World, there were invoices concerning his friend Guy Pelly and people connected to the story at the time.
MGN denied any unlawful information gathering and said that news agencies, a freelance journalist, and a source were paid for the articles.
“Harry’s cocaine ecstasy and GHB parties” – The Mirror on 14 January 2002
This front-page story claimed that some of the duke’s friends had taken “hard drugs” in front of him, including ecstasy, cocaine and GHB, reporting that the Prince of Wales – now the King – was “terrified”.
Harry said in his evidence “it is not clear to me where the defendant’s journalists could have possibly obtained these quotes from”. But MGN denied unlawful activity and said there is no evidence of phone hacking.
In relation to both stories, Mr Justice Fancourt said: “I find that it is very likely that unlawful methods were used, including voicemail interception (VMI), though I am not persuaded that this included the duke’s own phone.
“I am persuaded that VMI of some of the duke’s associates probably took place, though not of the duke himself.”
Harry’s relationship with Chelsy Davy
Many of the articles the judge sided with Harry on related to his relationship with Chelsy Davy, who he first met while she was a boarder at Stowe School in Buckinghamshire.
“Er, OK if I drop you off here?” – Sunday Mirror on 2 December 2007
This article claimed that a photo of Ms Davy leaving Kensington Palace was “proof” the duke had “patched things up” with her.
Harry questioned “what are the chances” that a photographer was there to capture the moment, adding that MGN made a “mind-boggling” amount of inquiries and payments. The publisher said there is no evidence of phone hacking and that the duke had “no reasonable expectation of privacy” in dropping Ms Davy off outside the palace gates.
The judge found “information about the whereabouts of Ms Davy and the arrangements for her to spend the night in Kensington Palace are likely to have been obtained by voicemail interception”.
“Harry is a Chelsy fan” – Daily Mirror on 29 November 2004
Harry said the author of a story showing a picture of Ms Davy, whom the duke had started dating, was a “prolific” user of private investigators who were known phone hackers, while MGN said the details came from a previous report in the Mail on Sunday, as well as two confidential sources.
Read more: Key findings in Prince Harry v Mirror Group Newspapers judgment
The judge said the story was “probably stood up by the Mirror by commissioning PIs to blag flight information, credit card details or phone billing data”, adding: “That unlawful activity was, I find, specifically instructed from London.”
Harry’s military career
“Soldier Harry’s Taliban” – The People on 28 September 2008
This article claimed Harry had been “banned from going back to war” in Afghanistan, despite his “desperation” to return.
He alleged details were obtained by “unlawful means” and that people with the information would not want to “jeopardise my career by speaking about it”, but the publisher said there is no evidence of phone hacking and the “public interest” in the story outweighed “any minimal privacy interest”.
Mr Justice Fancourt said: “There is likely to have been VMI or other unlawful information gathering (UIG) involved in reporting this story.”
The articles Harry lost
The judge said the other 18 articles didn’t stand up to careful analysis, noting “there was a tendency for the duke in his evidence to assume that everything published was the product of voicemail interception because phone hacking was rife within Mirror Group at the time”.
Lazy journalism
Mr Justice Fancourt said some of the articles were just “lazy journalism”, such as:
“3am: What a way to Harry on” – Daily Mirror on 26 March 2009
This article claimed Harry “openly cavorted” with a new girlfriend at a Twickenham rugby match.
The duke said details in the article are incorrect and that payments to a private investigator show the woman was of interest to MGN, while the publisher said information came from a prior Press Association report.
The judge said: “This 3am article was just lazy journalism, “our spy” was an invention, and no UIG was involved in relation to the duke’s private information, which in any event could not include what happened in a hospitality box at a public event.”
Hopeless
Other claims were dismissed as “hopeless”, including:
“Snap… Harry breaks thumb like William; Exclusive” – Daily Mirror on 11 November 2000
An article reported that Harry had chipped a bone in his thumb and had a minor operation following an accident during a game of football.
The duke said he found the level of detail in the story as “surprising” and that he believed the palace had been approached for comment rather than being a source. However, MGN said the information was in the public domain and had been repeatedly reported the previous day.
Mr Justice Fancourt said “this claim is hopeless”, adding: “There is no evidence and no inherent likelihood that VMI or UIG were used in this case.”
“Harry is ready to quit Oz” – Daily Mirror on 27 September 2003
This page-seven story reported that the duke was considering leaving his gap year in Australia due to press intrusion.
Harry said evidence showed that MGN was paying to have him watched as the piece describes that he was inside “watching videos”, while the publisher said the information came from press statements by Clarence House, and also appeared in other outlets.
The judge said: “The claim in respect of this article is also hopeless.”
Pure speculation
“Rugger off Harry” – Sunday Mirror on 11 November 2000
This article described an injury the duke had suffered while playing polo which had resulted in him having to stop playing rugby.
Harry said the article is “brazen” and attributes some details to an unnamed royal source despite there being no comment from the palace, while MGN said the information came from a “confidential Eton source” with no evidence of unlawful information gathering.
“That is pure speculation,” the judge said of Harry’s claim. “I consider that it is more likely than not that there was no unlawful means used to obtain this information.”
Four people have been charged after £7m of damage was caused to two Voyager aircraft at RAF Brize Norton.
The investigation into the incident early on Friday 20 June was led by counter-terror police.
They have been charged with conspiracy to enter a prohibited place knowingly for a purpose prejudicial to the safety or interests of the UK – and conspiracy to commit criminal damage.
Two Voyager aircraft at RAF Brize Norton were damaged. PA file pic
The four charged have been identified as:
• Amy Gardiner-Gibson, 29, of no fixed abode
• Daniel Jeronymides-Norie, 35, from London
• Jony Cink, 24, of no fixed abode
• Lewie Chiaramello, 22, from London
They will appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court later today.
A 41-year-old woman arrested last week on suspicion of assisting an offender has been released on bail until 19 September.
Meanwhile, a 23-year-old man detained on Saturday was released without charge.
Last month’s incident at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire was claimed by the activist group Palestine Action.
Yesterday, MPs voted to proscribe the group as a terrorist organisation.
The legislation passed with 385 MPs voting in favour, while 26 were against.
UK
No 10 backs Chancellor Rachel Reeves and says she ‘is going nowhere’ after tearful appearance in Commons
Rachel Reeves has not offered her resignation and is “going nowhere”, Downing Street has said, following her tearful appearance in the House of Commons.
A Number 10 spokesperson said the chancellor had the “full backing” of Sir Keir Starmer, despite Ms Reeves looking visibly upset during Prime Minister’s Questions.
Politics latest: ‘A moment of intense peril’ for PM
A spokesperson for the chancellor later clarified that Ms Reeves had been affected by a “personal matter” and would be working out of Downing Street this afternoon.
Politics latest: Reeves looks visibly upset in Commons
UK government bond prices fell by the most since October 2022, and the pound tumbled after Ms Reeves’s Commons appearance, while the yield on the 10-year government bond, or gilt, rose as much as 22 basis points at one point to around 4.68%.
Downing Street’s insistence came despite Sir Keir refusing to guarantee that Ms Reeves would stay as chancellor until the next election following the fallout from the government’s recent welfare U-turn.
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch branded the chancellor the “human shield” for the prime minister’s “incompetence” just hours after he was forced to perform a humiliating U-turn over his controversial welfare bill.
Speaking at Prime Minister’s Questions, Ms Badenoch said: “This man has forgotten that his welfare bill was there to plug a black hole created by the chancellor. Instead they’re creating new ones.”
Turning to the chancellor, the Tory leader added: “[She] is pointing at me – she looks absolutely miserable.
“Labour MPs are going on the record saying that the chancellor is toast, and the reality is that she is a human shield for his incompetence. In January, he said that she would be in post until the next election. Will she really?”
Not fully answering the question, the prime minister replied: “[Ms Badenoch] certainly won’t.
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Welfare vote ‘a blow to the prime minister’
“I have to say, I’m always cheered up when she asks me questions or responds to a statement because she always makes a complete mess of it and shows just how unserious and irrelevant they are.”
Mrs Badenoch interjected: “How awful for the chancellor that he couldn’t confirm that she would stay in place.”
The prime minister’s watered-down Universal Credit and Personal Independent Payment Bill, aimed at saving £5bn, was backed by a majority of 75 in a tense vote on Tuesday evening.
A total of 49 Labour MPs voted against the bill – the largest rebellion in a prime minister’s first year in office since 47 MPs voted against Tony Blair’s Lone Parent benefit in 1997, according to Professor Phil Cowley from Queen Mary University.
After multiple concessions made due to threats of a Labour rebellion, many MPs questioned what they were voting for as the bill had been severely stripped down.
They ended up voting for only one part of the plan: a cut to Universal Credit (UC) sickness benefits for new claimants from £97 a week to £50 from 2026/7.
Ms Badenoch said the climbdown was proof that Sir Keir was “too weak to get anything done”.
Read more:
The PM faced down his party on welfare and lost
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Ms Reeves has also borne a lot of the criticism over the handling of the vote, with some MPs believing that her strict approach to fiscal rules has meant she has approached the ballooning welfare bill from the standpoint of trying to make savings, rather than getting people into work.
Experts have now warned that the welfare U-turn, on top of reversing the cut to winter fuel, means that tax rises in the autumn are more likely – with Ms Reeves now needing to find £5bn to make up for the policy U-turns.
Asked by Ms Badenoch whether he could rule out further tax rises – something Labour promised it would not do on working people in its manifesto – Sir Keir said: “She knows that no prime minister or chancellor ever stands at the despatch box and writes budgets in the future.
“But she talks about growth, for 14 years we had stagnation, and that is what caused the problem.”
Prosecutors are considering whether to bring further criminal charges against Lucy Letby over the deaths of babies at two hospitals where she worked
The Crown Prosecution Service said it had received “a full file of evidence from Cheshire Constabulary asking us to consider further allegations in relation to deaths and non-fatal collapses of babies at the Countess of Chester Hospital and Liverpool Women’s Hospital”.
“We will now carefully consider the evidence to determine whether any further criminal charges should be brought,” it added.
“As always, we will make that decision independently, based on the evidence and in line with our legal test.”
Letby, 35, was found guilty of murdering seven children and attempting to murder seven more between June 2015 and June 2016 while working in the neonatal unit of the Countess of Chester Hospital and is currently serving 15 whole-life orders.
Letby worked at the Countess of Chester Hospital and Liverpool Women’s Hospital
She is understood to have carried out two work placements at Liverpool Women’s Hospital, where she trained as a student, between October and December 2012, and January and February 2015.
Police said in December that Letby was interviewed in prison as part of an investigation into more baby deaths and non-fatal collapses.
A Cheshire Constabulary spokesperson said: “We can confirm that Cheshire Constabulary has submitted a full file of evidence to the CPS for charging advice regarding the ongoing investigation into deaths and non-fatal collapses of babies at the neo-natal units of both the Countess of Chester Hospital and the Liverpool Women’s Hospital as part of Operation Hummingbird.”
Detectives previously said the investigation was looking into the full period of time that Letby worked as a nurse, covering the period from 2012 to 2016 and including a review of 4,000 admissions of babies.
Letby’s lawyer Mark McDonald said: “The evidence of the innocence of Lucy Letby is overwhelming,” adding: “We will cross every bridge when we get to it but if Lucy is charged I know we have a whole army of internationally renowned medical experts who will totally undermine the prosecution’s unfounded allegations.”
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Three managers at the hospital where Lucy Letby worked have been arrested on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter.
On Tuesday, it was confirmed that three managers at the Countess of Chester hospital had been arrested on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter in a separate investigation.
Read more from Sky News:
‘Catastrophic failure’ that led to Heathrow power outage revealed
Man charged with murder of 93-year-old woman in Cornwall
Police said the suspects, who occupied senior positions at the hospital between 2015 and 2016, have all been bailed pending further inquiries.
There is also an investigation into corporate manslaughter at the hospital, which began in October 2023.
A public inquiry has also been examining the hospital’s response to concerns raised about Letby before her arrest.
In May, it was announced the inquiry’s final report into how the former nurse was able to commit her crimes will now be published early next year.
Earlier this year, Letby’s lawyers called for the suspension of the inquiry, claiming there was “overwhelming and compelling evidence” that her convictions were unsafe.
In February, an international panel of neonatologists and paediatric specialists told reporters that poor medical care and natural causes were the reasons for the collapses and deaths.
Their evidence has been passed to the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), which investigates potential miscarriages of justice, and Letby’s legal team hopes her case will be referred back to the Court of Appeal.
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