The Duke of Sussex today faced, for the second day running, hours of questioning by the lawyer representing the Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN), Andrew Green, who argued that Harry has no proof that reporters from any of the newspapers members of the group would have used dubious tactics to get scoops on his life.
“All my life I’ve been misled by the press, covered up wrongdoing, so to sit here in court knowing that the defense has the evidence before them and Mr Green says I’m speculating… I’m not really sure what to say about this,” said the youngest son of King Carlos III, who was also questioned by his own lawyer, David Sherborne.
During today’s hearing, the MGN lawyer reiterated on several occasions that the Duke moved in the “field of total speculation” by maintaining that the reporters of those tabloid newspapers illegally tapped phones to access private information, something that Harry flatly denied.
Green also asked him if he was able to identify a single voicemail that he knew had been illegally intercepted, to which the prince replied that “there is strong evidence that[there is]something fishy” and added that he believed that ” the punctures started at the Mirror Group”.
The wiretaps could even have occurred over a period of more than 15 years, according to Harry: “It could have happened. I just don’t know. It’s part of the reason I’m here,” he said.
In the morning session, Prince Harry also revealed that some articles carried by MGN newspapers that cited “palace sources” for stories about his relationship with ex-girlfriend Chelsy Davy were the product of wiretapping.
The duke alluded to an article published by “The People” in September 2007 that spoke of the “apparently problematic relationship” that the duke had with the South African.
That article stated that “Prince Harry’s romance with Chelsy Davy is in crisis after a series of bitter rows” and claimed that “beautiful Chelsy is furious and deeply disgusted with Harry after three monumental arguments.”
“I never discussed any details with palace people about my relationship with my girlfriend, so attributing such information to a palace source is incredibly suspicious,” he observed.
After concluding the prince’s historic statement, the trial will continue in the coming days with the testimonies of other plaintiffs, after which the court will pronounce its opinion, on an unspecified date.