During Prince Harry’s phone-hacking trial, it has been revealed by royal biographer Omid Scobie that Piers Morgan was aware that his journalists at the Daily Mirror were using private voicemails as the basis for their stories. Scobie, who worked as an intern at the Daily Mirror in 2002, overheard Morgan discussing the source of a story about Kylie Minogue with a reporter. Morgan inquired about the reliability of the reporting and was informed that the information had come from voicemails. This revelation surprised Scobie at the time.
According to Scobie’s witness statement, Morgan appeared reassured after learning that the story about Minogue’s private life had been sourced from voicemails. Morgan was known for being heavily involved in the editorial process and always wanted to know how his reporters obtained information. Scobie emphasized that it was a standard question for any editor to ask about the sourcing and the identity of the source.
Prince Harry and other alleged victims claim that Morgan and other Mirror executives authorized illegal methods, including accessing celebrities’ voicemails, paying private investigators, and obtaining personal financial records, to secure exclusive stories. However, Morgan has consistently denied having knowingly commissioned stories based on illegal voicemail interception during his tenure as editor of the Daily Mirror from 1995 to 2004.
Mirror Group Newspapers, the publisher of the Daily Mirror, is disputing much of the evidence presented in the trial and argues that the claimants, including Prince Harry, have waited too long to bring their cases.
During the trial, Andrew Green KC, the barrister representing the Mirror, suggested that Scobie had fabricated the incident involving Morgan, calling it a “false memory.” Green further claimed that Scobie had a “vested interest” in supporting Prince Harry due to the journalist’s career benefiting from his proximity to the royal couple. It was revealed in court that Scobie had received authorization from Prince Harry and his former spokesperson, Jason Knauf, to be briefed while writing his book, “Finding Freedom.”
Scobie clarified that all his interactions with the royal couple were through their spokesperson, and there was no direct communication between himself and the Sussexes. He emphasized his intention to be fair in his writing about the couple, unlike some other royal correspondents, and stated that his appearance in court would likely subject him to heavy criticism from tabloid newspapers.
Prince Harry is one of the four alleged phone-hacking victims whose claims are being examined in the ongoing civil trial at the high court. The victims argue that they were targeted illegally by journalists working for Mirror Group Newspapers and that senior executives were aware of these activities.
Phone hacking, which involved attempting to access voicemails by guessing pin codes, affected thousands of individuals and led to extensive legal proceedings and significant financial costs. In addition to the ongoing trial, Prince Harry has also filed separate phone-hacking claims against the publishers of The Sun and the Daily Mail.
Scobie also revealed that he had encountered phone hacking during his previous work experience at the People, the Daily Mirror’s sister newspaper, where a journalist had provided him with a list of mobile numbers and instructions on how to listen to voicemails. He was taken aback by this unethical practice and did not carry out the task.
During cross-examination, the Mirror’s barrister questioned the likelihood of Scobie being involved in illegal phone hacking during his work experience, to which Scobie responded that surprising things can happen during internships.
Previous evidence in the trial came from former Sunday Mirror journalist Dan Evans, who claimed that illegal activities were commonplace at the tabloid newspaper and that he was taught phone hacking techniques by its former editor, Tina Weaver.