Are the Royals Victims of Phone Hacking?
The Duke of Sussex, Prince Harry, is expected to testify in the ongoing phone-hacking trial in London. He is suing Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN) for allegedly hacking his voicemails and illegally gathering news when he was just 11 years old. On Monday, Prince Harry’s lawyer, David Sherborne, accused the Daily Mirror journalists of hacking his mother’s voicemails and listening to them. While Piers Morgan was the editor, the court heard that the journalists got sensitive and secret pieces of information regarding Princess Diana and Michael Barrymore. As a result, Prince Harry filed his case against MGN.
Illegal Newsgathering and Harassment
The case against MGN alleges voicemail hacking and illegal newsgathering dating back to 1995 and continuing until the closure of the paper in 2018. The use of this information to publish false or private details for profit is harmful, illegal, and caused a breach of privacy. Prince Harry’s mother and father’s separation in 1995 was a period that offered little protection to children against the collection of illegal information from the defendant. Reports have it that MGN photographers involved in phone-hacking resorted to illegal activities such as data theft to get photographs of victims. Sherborne argues that celebrities and politicians were relentlessly harassed by newspaper staff, whose job it was to keep inventing new angles to make newsworthy stories and making a sale out of it.
The Height of Intrusion into Barrymore and Diana’s Private Life
Monty Python actor, Michael Palin, has recently shared his experiences concerning phone-hacking in a High Court Phone Hacking Trial by Mirror group newspapers. Barrymore seems to be one of the most unfortunate victims of phone hacking by the Mirror. In a letter from June 1997, two months before she died in a car accident, Diana wrote to Barrymore, asking him if he was okay and if the deep silence between them was good news. In the same vein, Barrymore wrote her mentioning the intrusion by the press into their personal relationship and mentioned he could not seem to escape the media’s attention. This points to the fact that the Mirror had a high level of intrusion and exposure into the private lives of people.
MGN Denies Hacking Prince Harry’s Phone
Denying the allegations leveled against it, MGN claimed that there was no evidence to prove that it hacked Prince Harry’s phone. Furthermore, the publication has denied or refuted all charges related to illegal activities in each case led by Harry except in one instance. However, these denials have failed to stop the accusations. Data theft and phone hacking is a significant problem in today’s world, and news corporations need to be held accountable for their actions.
Summary
Prince Harry has gone to court to sue Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN) for allegations of hacking his voicemails and illegally gathering news when he was 11 years old. Michael Barrymore and Princess Diana’s secret and highly sensitive information was obtained by journalists from Daily Mirror, while Piers Morgan was editor. Prince Harry’s lawyer made the allegation in court, accusing MGN journalists of wasting court time and phone hacking. MGN is represented by Andrew Green KC, who has called the claims “total speculation without any evidence whatsoever.” MGN denies the allegations of hacking Prince Harry’s voicemails. The trial has been ongoing, highlighting the level of intrusion and exposure into the private lives of celebrities and politicians by some newspaper corporations.
The Intrusion into Private Lives by Newspapers: A Case Study
The intrusion into private lives by newspapers is not a new phenomenon. It has existed since the newspaper industry began. However, phone hacking and data theft have increased significantly with technological advancements. Phone hacking involves the unauthorized intrusion into someone’s private messages and stealing information. It is an illegal activity that breaches privacy and can double as a tool to harass people.
The mirror newspaper and the phone hacking incident involving Prince Harry is an instance where a news corporation has caused an extreme violation of privacy. Over the years, papers have similarly breached the privacy of famous people. By so doing, papers gain and sell confidential information that should remain undisclosed. The information stolen is used to tell stories meant to attract sales and public attention. The primary objective of phone hacking is to generate newsworthy stories using stolen private information about celebrities or politicians.
In earlier times, pictures and stories about celebrities were maybe less invasive as they were not as accessible as they are now. In the digital age and the rise of social media, the cost of invasion into personal privacy has significantly increased. Intrusion into private lives is now a leading cause of privacy violation. As people’s private data remains unprotected, cybercriminals, hackers, and news corporations become threats to the privacy and well-being of people.
The issue of privacy is more profound than we think. It affects everyone in different ways and is increasingly being subjected to threats in the digital age. News publications and corporations have functions to serve, and one of them is to inform the public, not to harass people and steal their data. With increasingly sophisticated technology, news publications must operate responsibly and sensibly. For the sake of privacy, we must demand this of them.
Conclusion
Privacy is a fundamental human right that media houses should respect and protect. The invasion of privacy through phone-hacking, data theft, and other similar acts by news publications must always be vehemently opposed. The case of Prince Harry and other celebrities highlights the danger and threat that accompanies the breach of privacy. The media must shift its focus from merely generating sales and public attention to responsible and ethical journalism. As media houses instigate change from within, regulatory bodies, governments, and the public must demand responsible behavior and accountability from news corporations.
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The Duke of Sussex is expected to give evidence in the phone hacking trial on Tuesday, a day after the court heard his mother’s voicemails were listened to by daily mirror journalists while springs morgan was editor.
The prince HarryDavid Sherborne’s lawyer made the accusation as he opened the duke of sussexMirror Group Newspapers (MGN) privacy claim in High Court.
Prince Harry is suing MGN for alleged voicemail hacking and illegal newsgathering that he says dates back to when he was just 11 years old. On Monday he was accused of “wasting court time” by not attending, but his lawyers questioned this, saying the day was always made up of only opening statements.
Sherborne said that the Daily Mirror journalists “clearly heard the voicemails”, and that was “how they learned secret and highly sensitive details of Princess Diana and Michael Barrymore, who was struggling to reveal himself as homosexual” and had endured a battle with drug addiction.
In March 1997, he wrote to the TV star saying: “Dear Michael, what a joy it was to finally meet you tonight. I wanted to emphasize that I’m here for you, whatever, whenever. It’s so easy to show up and see you.”
In a later message, Diana said she was “devastated” to learn that the Daily Mirror had been asking about six meetings they had together.
“Nobody knew about our conversations/phone calls. I’m so sorry. [that] what I considered a private matter has become public property,” he wrote.
In a letter from June 1997, two months before she died in a car accident in Paris, Diana wrote to Barrymore asking, “Are you okay? I’m worried because I haven’t heard from you for a while. I hope the silence is good news!”
He added: “I’ve had a nightmare with the tabloids.”
Sherborne said that Morgan referred to the Mirror’s revelation of the private friendship in his memoir, The Insider, in which he wrote that he “heard rumors that Diana had been secretly consoling him (Barrymore)”.
The lawyer suggested that Barrymore had been “freaked out” by the intrusion into their personal relationship.
In response to the claims, MGN lawyer Andrew Green KC called it “total speculation without any evidence whatsoever”.
“The letters you were shown are not evidence of voicemail interception,” he added. “There is no other evidence, and clearly no such finding can be made.”
In his opening speech on Monday, Sherborne highlighted a story about Harry suffering a back injury at school, forcing him to give up playing rugby.
He said the story had “tell-tale signs of illegal information-gathering”, which allegedly started even while Harry was still at school.
“His mother and father had separated in 1995, the divorce followed in 1996,” he said.
“Prince Harry was still at school, somewhere that offered him little protection against the collection of illegal information from the defendant.”
It is said that MGN photographers were also involved in illegal activities, in order to be in the right place to photograph their famous targets.
Mr. Sherborne showed the court a story from September 2000 about Harry’s 16th birthday.he birthday, when a photographer stood by as the Prince joined his friends for a pub lunch.
He said Harry’s visit had been “unexpected”, even for the guests, but the photographer was well placed to take the photo.
MGN journalists are said to have used illegal means not only to obtain scoops, but also to “spread” stories from other newspapers and seek a new angle on an existing story.
Prince Harry is due to start giving his evidence in the case on Tuesday morning.
MGN denies hacking phones against the Prince, and has denied or admitted illegal activity in all but one case involving Harry.
The trial continues.
https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/princess-diana-phone-hacking-piers-morgan-daily-mirror-harry-b1085671.html
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