Harry has strong hacking case, says Diana’s brother

The Duke of Sussex’s maternal uncle, Earl Spencer, is the first member of his family to publicly support his privacy battle against the tabloid press.

Prince Harry is suing Mirror Group Newspapers, claiming that he was the victim of hacking. The Duke of Sussex is pictured after giving evidence at the trial, at the High Court in London. Picture: Getty

The Duke of Sussex’s maternal uncle became the first member of his family yesterday (Thursday) to publicly support his privacy battle against the tabloid press.

Earl Spencer suggested that Harry had a strong case against the Daily Mirror publisher because it had previously admitted other phone-hacking claims. Harry, 38, claims that he was a victim of hacking along with his brother, their mother and Chelsy Davy, his first serious girlfriend.

Earl Spencer said that Harry had a strong case against the Daily Mirror publisher because it had previously admitted other phone-hacking claims. Picture: Getty

Spencer, 59, discussed the case on Twitter in response to comments by Amanda Platell, a Daily Mail columnist and former Mirror Group Newspaper executive, who wrote: “Is Harry still obsessed with former love Chelsy Davy?”

She speculated about why his wife, Meghan, 41, had not accompanied him when he became the first senior royal to give evidence in court for 132 years. She wrote: “Harry mentions her [Davy] 118 times in court evidence [in his witness statement], Meghan just five times. No wonder Meg’s [sic] didn’t show up!”

Spencer, who promised at his sister’s funeral in 1997 to look after Princes William and Harry, accused Platell of misrepresenting “significant legal evidence as if it was something trivial”.

Asked about the “evidence”, Spencer wrote: “The tens of millions paid out by the @DailyMirror group to those they hacked, to start with.”

Pathetic, @amandajplatell - you have no shame, and even less credibility. Last time I heard from you, you were guilty of libelling me, as your employer at @DailyMailUK agreed. Now you’re put up (by them?) to misrepresent significant legal evidence as if it was something trivial. https://t.co/rFPLEcDtk9

— Charles Spencer (@cspencer1508) June 7, 2023

The tens of millions paid out by the @DailyMirror group to those they hacked, to start with. Hope that helps.

— Charles Spencer (@cspencer1508) June 7, 2023

Jane Kerr, the Mirror’s former royal correspondent, told the High Court in London on the final day of evidence that Piers Morgan, the paper’s former editor, got information from Palace sources and it was “highly unlikely” that he used illegally obtained details.

The mother of Caroline Flack, the late television presenter who was another of Harry’s former girlfriends, said the duke was “very brave” for suing the publisher. The articles at issue include one with the headline “Harry’s date with Gladiators star” about the duke leaving a party with Flack, in the Sunday People in April 2009. Christine Flack told Jeremy Vine’s Channel 5 chat show: “Harry is doing it for everybody . . . he’s very brave because he is getting such an awful lot of stick as well.”

Former editor of the Daily Mirror, Piers Morgan, had several contacts at Buckingham Palace. He is pictured with then Prince Charles in 2018 in London. Picture: Getty

She said she had been pursued by paparazzi after her daughter, 40, was arrested and then, in February 2020, killed herself, having complained of media intrusion.

Harry’s lawyers have told the court that Morgan “lies at the heart” of the hacking allegations. Kerr said Morgan’s contacts included Sandy Henney, who was press secretary to Prince Charles from 1993 to 2000.

Kerr, who denies any knowledge of voicemail hacking, said it was “highly unlikely” Morgan “injected” details from hacked messages into an article.

Morgan, the Mirror’s editor between 1995 and 2004, is not a witness in the case and has repeatedly denied involvement in phone hacking. He is now a presenter on TalkTV, owned by News UK, parent company of The Times.

The Times