PIERS Morgan today slammed the “ruthless and greedy” Prince Harry after he was implicated in royal phone hacking.
The TalkTV presenter spoke out after the Duke of Sussex was awarded £140,600 following his successful High Court legal battle against the Mirror publisher.
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Piers Morgan has hit out at ‘ruthless’ Prince HarryCredit: PA
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Harry was awarded £140k in damagesCredit: AFP
Piers was named in today’s judgment for his role as editor of the newspaper between 1995 and 2004.
He insisted he had “no knowledge” of a single article published while in office that may have involved illegal information gathering.
In his scathing statement, Piers:
- Accused Omid Scobie of lying about him in his book Endgame and during the trial
- He blamed Alastair Campbell for plunging the UK into an “illegal war” and called him a “proven liar”.
- Accused Prince Harry of smearing his family as ‘a bunch of callous racists without a shred of evidence’
- He blamed the duke for “hundreds of millions in profit” from the “public destruction of his family” while his grandparents were dying
Piers also claimed that Harry was repeatedly exposed “as someone who wouldn’t know the truth if slapped around his California tan”.
Speaking outside his home, he added: “Prince Harry’s fury at the media’s intrusion into the royal family’s private lives can only be matched by his ruthless, greedy and hypocritical enthusiasm for doing it himself.”
Piers attacked Harry for launching a case against the “appalling behavior of the media”, when he “repeatedly publicly destroyed his family for hundreds of millions of dollars”.
He added: “It’s hard to imagine, frankly, more appalling behavior than that.
“He demands accountability from the media but refuses to accept responsibility for himself – for smearing the royal family, his own family, as a bunch of callous racists without producing a single piece of evidence for these disgraceful claims.”
Piers also claimed that Harry’s “real mission, with his wife, is to destroy the British monarchy”, before vowing to do everything in his power to stop the couple.
Harry sued MGN after he claimed journalists were involved in methods including phone hacking, so-called “blagging” or obtaining information by fraud and the use of private investigators for illegal activities.
His case was heard alongside similar claims made by Coronation Street actor Michael Turner, who is known professionally as Michael Le Vell, and actress Nikki Sanderson.
Piers took aim at those who gave evidence in Harry’s case – including writer Omid Scobie and journalist Alastair Campbell.
As he himself was not called as a witness, he said, he could not answer “the many false claims made about me in court by my old enemies with an ax in their head”.
He added: “I know the judge seems to have believed the evidence of Omid Scobie, who lied about me in his new book and lied about me in court, and the whole world now knows him as a delusional fantasist.
“And he believed the evidence of Alastair Campbell, another proven liar who dragged this country into an illegal war.”
The judge found there was “extensive” phone hacking by Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN) from 2006 to 2011, “even to some extent” during the Leveson inquiry into media standards.
Mr Justice Fancourt also ruled that Harry’s phone was likely hacked “to a modest extent” by the publisher.
Piers said there was “no evidence” to suggest he ever hacked the phone or told anyone else to do so.
He added: “I had then and still have no knowledge of how that particular story was collected.
“I also want to reiterate, as I have said consistently for many years, I have never hacked a phone or told anyone else to do so and no one has provided actual evidence to prove that I did.”
Piers ended his statement by telling reporters: “Merry Christmas.”
Harry earlier hit out at Piers in his own scathing statement when he called the verdict “justified and affirming”.
Piers’ statement in full
“Today a judge at the High Court in London ruled on various cases including Prince Harry’s claim against Mirror Group Newspapers, where I was editor until 2004.
“The judgment finds that there is only one article relating to the Prince published in The Daily Mirror during my entire nine-year tenure as editor which he believes may have involved some illegal gathering of information.
“To be clear, at the time I had, and still have, zero knowledge of how that particular story was collected.
“All his other claims against the Daily Mirror have been dismissed under my leadership.
“Regarding the judge’s other references to me in his judgment, I also want to reiterate, as I have said repeatedly for many years, I have never hacked a phone or told anyone else to hack a phone.
“And no one has produced any real evidence to prove that I did.
“I was not called as a witness – this is important for people to know – neither party in this case, nor was I asked for any statement.
“I would have very happily agreed to do either or both of those things if asked. Nor have I had a single conversation with any of the Mirror Group’s lawyers throughout the legal process.
“Therefore, I was unable to answer the many false accusations leveled against me in court by my old enemies with a sharp axe, most of which, inexplicably, were not even challenged by the Mirror Group’s lawyer in my absence.
“But I notice that the judge seems to have believed the evidence of Omid Scobie, who lied about me in his new book, and lied about me in court, and the whole world now knows him as a delusional fantasist.
“And he believed the evidence of Alastair Campbell, another proven liar who dragged this country into an illegal war.
“Finally, I want to say this: Prince Harry’s fury at the media’s intrusion into the royal family’s private lives is matched only by his ruthless, greedy and hypocritical enthusiasm for doing so himself.
“He spoke today about the appalling behavior of the media, but this is a guy who repeatedly publicly ripped off his family for hundreds of millions of dollars, even as two of its oldest and most valued members were dying – his grandparents.
“It’s hard to imagine, frankly, more horrible behavior than that.
“As for his declaration that this is a good day for the truth, the Duke has been exposed repeatedly in recent years as someone who wouldn’t know the truth if it were slapped around his Californian tan face.
“He demands accountability from the press, but refuses to accept responsibility for himself for smearing the royal family, his own family, as a bunch of callous racists without producing any evidence for these shameful claims.
“He also says he is on a mission to reform the media, when it became clear that his real mission, along with his wife, is to destroy the British monarchy.
“And I will continue to do everything I can to stop them.
“Merry Christmas.”
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Piers made a statement after today’s verdictCredit: PA
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