Prince Harry claims ‘new voicemails vanished before he had a chance to listen’ as he gives evidence at hacking trial
6 June 2023, 11:16 | Updated: 6 June 2023, 11:25
Prince Harry’s witness statement in his phone hacking action against the publisher of the Daily Mirror was released today, with the Duke describing to the court ‘unusual mobile activity’ from the time he was at school.
Harry says in his statement he was first issued a mobile ‘by the institution’ while at Eton, and it became crucial to his daily life, but was never named on the account nor did he receive a bill.
But he said that despite this, on multiple occasions, he would hear voicemails that were no longer ‘new’ - but put it down to a technical glitch or ‘having had too many drinks the night before.”
"It was my main means of communicating with my family [including my mother who I was obviously extremely close] ... my girlfriend at the time, my friends, members of the Royal Household and those I was working with.
"My voicemails would include incredibly private and sensitive information about my relationships, my operational security and that of my family [and in later years] my work both in the Army and as a senior member of the Royal Family."
“I wouldn’t go into my voicemail unless the little envelope symbol flashed up on my phone signalling to me that I had a new message,” his statement says.
“Sometimes this symbol would vanish before I had a chance to listen to the voicemail. I don’t know how long after they’d been listened to that the symbol vanished, presumably straight away.
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“I also distinctly remember people saying to me “did you not get my voicemail?” on both a personal and a work-related level. I was like, “no”, and sometimes I would go back into my voicemail to look for it but still couldn’t find it.”
“With the benefit of the knowledge I have now gained of the details of how phone hacking took place, I believe that both mine and my Associates voicemail messages were hacked,” the statement adds.
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Harry's witness statement also mentions his previous relationships, saying they suffered as a result of 'the prying eyes of the tabloids'.
"I can remember that at least one of my girlfriends told me she was warned off me by her parents saying 'is it really worth all the aggravation?' – our relationship ended shortly after.
"We were never on our own and able to enjoy each other's company away from the prying eyes of the tabloids.
"I remember finding it very hard to trust anyone, which led to bouts of depression and paranoia.
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"Of course, now that we know that this information was invariably obtained by unlawful means, these friendships were lost entirely unnecessarily, which is a matter of huge regret for me."
Andrew Green KC, representing MGN, began his cross-examination of the duke today by saying: "I'm sure your legal team has explained to you how this process works.
"One of the things I am going to be doing is taking you through various newspaper articles, some of which are the subject of your claim. I entirely appreciate that you have lived a life time of tabloid press intrusion, and that having to be asked questions on such matters can only be unpleasant."
The barrister asked the duke to let him know if he wanted to take a break "at any point or for any reason" and also to say if he found any question "objectionable".
Mr Green then apologised to the duke in person on behalf of MGN, repeating the publisher's "unreserved apology" to him at the outset of the trial for one instance of unlawful activity.
He said: "MGN unreservedly apologises to you for that, it should never have happened and it will never happen again."
Mr Green told Harry that, if the judge finds that MGN was responsible for any further acts of unlawful information gathering, "you will be entitled to, and will receive, a more extensive apology".
Harry said that he had ‘experienced hostility from the press since I was born.”
Describing the impact of the alleged unlawful information gathering on him in his witness statement, the Duke of Sussex said: "It created a huge amount of paranoia in my relationships... I felt that I couldn't trust anybody, which was an awful feeling for me, especially at such a young age.
"As I am uncovering the extent of the unlawful activities carried out by MGN's journalist and senior executives towards me, I feel somewhat relieved to know that my paranoia towards my friends and family had, in fact, been misplaced, although feel sad for how much it impacted my adolescence."
Harry's claim is being heard alongside three other "representative" claims during a trial which began last month and is due to last six to seven weeks.
The three other representative claimants are Coronation Street actor Michael Turner, known professionally as Michael Le Vell, who is best known for playing Kevin Webster in the long-running soap, former Coronation Street actress Nikki Sanderson, and comedian Paul Whitehouse's ex-wife Fiona Wightman.
Mr Green said voicemail interception was denied in all four cases and that there was "no evidence or no sufficient evidence".
The barrister continued: "There is some evidence of the instruction of third parties to engage in other types of unlawful information gathering in respect of each of the claimants, save for Mr Turner whose claim is entirely denied, and MGN has made pleaded admissions in respect thereof.
"MGN unreservedly apologises for all such instances of unlawful information gathering, and assures the claimants that such conduct will never be repeated."
