The news broke on Friday: on September 27th, Prince Harry’s lawyers – Clintons LLC – filed a lawsuit against the Sun, the Daily Mirror and the now-defunct News of the World, all of which are some of the worst British tabloids out there. NOTW is defunct because they basically got sued out of existence during the British phone-hacking thing several years back. Hack-gate or the Leveson Inquiry or the British Hacking Scandal, it never really had a name which caught on. We might need to all agree on a name for it because Prince Harry has brought the scandal back to life with his lawsuit. Part of his lawsuit says that these publications based stories on the “illegal interception of voicemail messages.” This was shown again and again during all of the evidence given in various court proceedings – those newspapers were hacking into celebrities’ voicemails for dirt.
No one knows the timeline for when Harry is claiming to have been hacked, whether this is an old case or a new/recent case. What’s interesting is that if the hacking was from years ago, that’s when Piers Morgan (who was name-checked in the lawsuit) was editor of the Daily Mirror. The Daily Beast’s sources believe that these are cases from years ago. The claims against the News of the World pre-date 2010, and the lawsuit might include stories/hacking from the early 2000s. As for the specific call-out of Piers Morgan, the Daily Beast reports this:
A legal insider told Byline Investigates: “Piers Morgan has been critical of Harry and Meghan’s recourse to law this week against the Mail on Sunday. However, most of the Mirror hacking and blagging of Harry and his loved ones, allegedly happened under his watch.” (‘Blagging,’ in this context, means posing as someone to obtain personal information about them without their consent.) One Mirror source told The Daily Beast: “Piers is at the crux of this. Harry is incensed over his constant columns on Mail Online and his TV attacks on GMB. Piers does not hold back in his contempt for them.”
A senior employee at one of the named outlets, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to do so, told The Daily Beast that they did not believe the allegations related to specific allegations of phone hacking, or phone hacking that had taken place in recent years, but rather to an inference of phone hacking based on the publication of private information. The source said they did not have detailed knowledge of the complaint lodged by Harry and were basing their speculation on previous legal actions by other claimants.
The source said: “The papers were lodged a week ago. Since 2011 there have been a steady stream of civil cases, and usually they don’t actually have direct evidence of phone hacking, they just say, ‘Well, in 2005 you published this story that you couldn’t possibly have known about unless you had hacked my phone.’ I suspect this is similar. Now we’re being traduced as phone hackers but in the vast majority of cases someone had actually told us the story and we hadn’t hacked anyone’s phone. Usually the lawyers just settle anyway, because it’s easier, but for some reason Harry has obviously decided he wants to make a big public statement out of it.
“The general view is that it’s just some vendetta he has got. But what is he so cross about? What does it pertain to? It’s like he has gone mad. I mean, if you actually read the papers we do the most fawning coverage of Meghan and Harry. It’s infuriating. You definitely get the impression he is doing this without consulting anyone, just like he did with the statement this week and the action against the Mail on Sunday. He is just launching his own actions and he is going to drag the whole royal family down with him.”
A former royal correspondent told the Daily Beast: “Harry is making himself newsworthy. He seems to have lost the plot with the press. This is a very aggressive and odd move and is obviously being driven by the way the press has covered Meghan. This is payback.”
I think the newspapers are HOPING that Harry doesn’t have a specific case or proof that he was hacked so they continue to claim that he’s just making sh-t up for “attention” (lol). I remember during the Leveson Inquiry, there was evidence of the tabloids hacking Prince William and then-Kate Middleton and basing stories off of their voicemails (including their pet names for each other). I would imagine there was evidence (which likely got buried) of similar hacks of Harry and probably Chelsy Davy too. But here’s the thing: what if there are new or recent cases? That would be VERY interesting. I mean, it’s not like anyone really believes that all of the British tabloids just up and decided to go on the straight and narrow in 2011. Of course there are still some really shady things that happen. And personally, I don’t believe Harry would just go out and start throwing legal haymakers. He and his lawyers would have their ducks in a row before launching this kind of attack on the press.
Photos courtesy of WENN, Avalon Red and Backgrid.
I love how all the royal correspondents are like, Harry has gone too far!!! He’s lashing out!! You can tell they’re ticked bc he is making it clear they can’t bully him and his wife anymore.
Piers Morgan said no reporter should cover Harry and Meghan anymore, which is laughable and made me think that he is being pulled from royal coverage for the time being.
The actual details of the suit will be interesting as more info comes to light.
It will be interesting as if they didn’t hack phones then they will have to reveal WHO told them private information.
During the Leveson enquiry Jude Law found out a close family member was selling him out to the press. Someone close to Harry was leaking if his phone wasn’t hacked.
Would they actually be *allowed* to implicate KP/William/Poor Jason if they *are* the one who provided those leaks?
TheOG, this refers to the hacks a long time ago. Far more likely to be a friend who sold secrets to get extra cash for a holiday or down payment on a house, as plenty of celebs found out in previous inquiries.
It’s something I’m wondering about – the amount of Royal stories that have been caught-and-killed in return for a photo op here and there, and/or some pressure by KP. Not just Harry, of course, everyone. Just because those stories don’t run, doesn’t mean the evidence doesn’t get put in a safe somewhere, like at AMI. Harry may have kicked a hornet’s nest here.
@Becks, Piss Moron is being slammed on twitter today because the reporting ban he called for he has broken within 24hrs!! He is soooooooo obsessed he literally can’t help himself talking about the Sussexes, making himself look a complete idiot and more and more people are calling him out for his stalking. I can’t wait for him to appear in court again, hope this time they strap to him to a lie-detector so his perjury is obvious to all….
ETA: Daily Fail just had to bring out Toxic Tom again to attempt to validate their publishing of Meghan’s letter…
Unfortunately (?) “lie detectors” do not actually work. Sry.
Wait wait before we go any further here I NEED to know which one of them said, “if you actually read the papers, we do the most fawning coverage of Meghan and Harry.” My eyes rolled clear out of my head.
(Unless that person was from People magazine, in which case, carry on!)
ETA I just saw Digital Unicorn’s comment and holy shit. That would be something, if we see this play out on the witness stand. I’m with Jan, wondering if anyone would publicly implicate William/the Palace as sources to refute accusations of hacking.
ETA AGAIN because I just saw Moose’s comment and I’m laughing my ass off. Piers Morgan called for a ban on reporting on H&M? Lmfaooo I don’t know how I missed this one but that’s absurdly hilarious.
We don’t care Piers, this is not 1980s, the Suxesses, have their SussexRoyal insta, with almost 10million followers and still counting, we will get our info from there. The readership of these rags is less than 3million.
Piers absolutely does not understand how social media has changed the game. He’s becoming obsolete and it can’t happen fast enough.
I hope after they win these cases, Harry & Meghan say adios to the BRF.👋👋👋
With the Brexit mess ensuing, I doubt there’ll still be a United Kingdom – (or even a Commonwealth link) – when it’s William’s time at the throne anyway.
And Meghan gets pregnant with twin girls, the tabloids will NEVER see.😁
I find it funny when people say they can say good bye to the BRF..as if they were card carrying members of a group or points club membership. Harry is a Prince, the son of the future King. The brother of another future king, the grandson of the Queen. It is not like saying gee I don’t want to be a prince so I think I will switch careers because this prince job is not a good fit. Prince Harry can’t simply denounce his title since no one can renounce their right to the throne without legislation as succession is defined by Parliament, not the Sovereign. So, it’s not if he can send his two weeks notice to his grandmother.
@Rosalee: No one is saying it would be simple or easy. But yes, he can remove himself from the line of succession and renounce his title. Harry might very well reach a point where he won’t tolerate the abuse of his wife and child and realize that walking away might be the best option, even if it’s difficult/complicated.
Your comment was extremely condescending.
I don’t think they have any intention of leaving the BRF. Why should they? His issue is with the tabloid press, not his family. He’s not the future monarch, there is no constitutional crises due to him suing some sleazy papers. They’re just mad they pushed back hard and the whole world got to see it in real time. We have no idea what goes on behind the scenes, after all the Queen, Charles, and senior officials ( those in the ,inner inner circle) knew beforehand Harry was going to release that letter when he did ,as well as the lawsuits. He and Meghan have raised the profile of the Royal family and commonwealth tenfold since she entered their lives and that’s why these smears keep going on on. Not because they’re crappy indolent royals who don’t care and swan about in private jets causing volcanoes , but because of the opposite. That’s what sets their teeth on edge.
The one thing he can do is not take money for it. Now that might make some more happy as there does seem to be a contingent of people who feel the monarchy shouldn’t be subsidized by the taxpayers.
However, I do agree as much as people on here make it about his family, that isn’t what this is about, and we don’t really know what his family is really like. It’s all just gossip from a lot the same people we don’t believe on other things. This particular issue is about the tabloid press, and I do believe Harry has demonstrated he doesn’t like them and blames them for a lot that happened to his mother in addition to his wife. I don’t think he should leave the BRF, even if he could and hide away, as I believe they can accomplish a lot of good with their position, and hope they stick it through and get some fair treatment after these lawsuits.
@Lorelei I was responding to a comment which was removed. I can be extremely condescending and sarcastic, if you find my comments insensitive don’t read them.
I read somewhere (the Guardian, I think) that someone who worked for the Mirror or Sun recently admitted that he hacked Diana’s phone.
It is a very well documented fact that those two rags hacked many people’s phones, including that of a young girl who was murdered (before her body was found). The sister paper News of the World was closed down as a faux way of the holding company saying mea culpa. They have paid out £100,000s in damages to several celebrities already. Does the name Piers Morgan resonate because he was part of the whole. sordid business.
Having said that, whilst understanding why Harryis doing this, I think he is taking a dangerous course. It is very difficult to win against a press with an agenda.
“Having said that, whilst understanding why Harryis doing this, I think he is taking a dangerous course. It is very difficult to win against a press with an agenda”
I am grateful that there were people in this world who never LISTEN to comment as the one above. I am just so grateful to the women who came before me and decided to fight for equality; I am grateful to those who fought for freedom, to those who never listen to the nay sayers preventing them for fighting for what was RIGHT
I guess there are people who are always afraid or can never take a stand and say enough is enough…..that’s fine. To those who can, they SHOULD!!!
Go Harry & Meghan…..take them down!!! If they ever was a crowdfunding effort to fight those nasty tabloids, I will participate!
Harry already won.
What’s dangerous is continuing to allow the tabloids to destroy lives. The world will not get better if everyone keeps burying their heads in the sand because they are afraid of retaliation.
We wouldn’t have the Civil Rights Movement, #metoo Movement, Women’s voting rights, abolition of slavery, Voting Rights Act, and several other movements if all those people caved in and gave up because of danger.
Speak up when you see an injustice. It doesn’t matter what background you come from. You don’t understand how many victims of the tabloid press are hoping and praying that Harry and Meghan are victorious.
this is sick: including that of a young girl who was murdered (before her body was found).
Milly Dowler. She was still considered missing when they hacked her phone, so it gave her family hope that she was still alive out there, checking her voicemail.
I cannot even fathom what that poor family went through. They were already living the worst hell that parents could imagine and these rags managed to add to their suffering.
I read her sister’s book and it was excellent, in case anyone here is interested in the story.
I will never forgive the tabloids for Milly Dowler… EVER! They deserve everything that is coming to them through this group-action that Harry has joined. Many of those that were hacked were normal people like you and me who do not necessarily have the funding or might to call them out… it’s not just celebs lives these tabloids have ruined, and their behaviour since Megahn came on the scene just proves they haven’t changed a jot since Leveson1.
His mom died because the media were chasing her down so I think starting a lawsuit is not even close to dangerous. He won’t suing over tiara gate or the nonsense stories but about invasion of privacy. Charles, William and the Queen have all done the exact same so it’s obvious there is illogical bias in trying to say that this lawsuit happens to be different.
What is not mentioned above is that the hacker (Glenn Mulcaire ) listened to the messages from the family and others and then deleted some of them. This effectively gave the family false hope that she was still alive and made the police refocus their investigation (i.e. that she ran away as opposed to being abducted). At that point she was also still alive. I will never understand why that was done as that effectively amounts to tampering with evidence.
They put that family through hell and it’s my contention that the new regulator is toothless.
There should be a two strikes and you’re out policy.
People like PM who have been caught multiple times should not be allowed to work in any shape or form in the media, let alone influence it in such a profound way.
The only reason why PM is such a huge Murdoch schill is because he is not employable as a credible journalist.
Sorry duplicated or even triplicated. Don’t know what happened there.
Should appear under my post at 3.
Just as a Lannister always pays their debts. A Sussex always does their homework. The Sussexes put in a lot of work before announcing any initiatives. I imagine the same applies to this lawsuit which apparently has been in the works for months. I don’t think their team would go forward with this case without evidence.
My understanding is that this case is bigger than Harry. Most of the people who have been wire-tapped or had their privacy violated aren’t famous and their cases may be brought to light as a result of this suit.
Um Aurora … may I just compliment you on the House Sussex new motto. A Sussex always does their homework. Brilliant. Just brilliant.
Oh my goodness, someone with artistic skills draw a house sigils and describe it to me in vivid detail!
From what I understand, he’s joined an existing lawsuit with hundreds of other people.
Edit: Someone explained this below.
Think blind sites allege that Rose story came from Meghan. Lol.
Piers is pissing himself- said the GB press should blackout the Sussexes but hasn’t been able to stop tweeting about them himself.
The phone hacking scandal really showed some awful, criminal behaviour. It emerged around time of MPs expenses scandal & showed fundamental corruption within these key institutions in the UK.
From my understanding this isn’t recent and there is a statute of limitations on this type of legal action, unless you are alleging a cover up and destruction of evidence which I think is what is happening here. It implicates Morgan and Rebekah Wade (now Brooks). The outlet that broke the original story has a pretty good outlay of what the filing is about actually. Not sure if I’m allowed to link but if you just check out Byline Investigates website there’s a pretty good breakdown of the case.
Does the statute of limitations apply to civil cases though?
I don’t think there is a statute of limitation for these allegations. Also, it has been revealed that more evidence of hacking was destroyed or covered up. Harry is not the only person involved in the lawsuit, he’s just the most famous.
Byline Investigates broke this story and also has a follow up on what’s happening and the implications. It really is the best source to learn and understand all the facts and moving parts of this action. Harry is becoming part of a larger group or class of individuals suing and he adds more stature and prominence to the proceedings. Evidently the media have been able to pay people off and threaten them to avoid going to trial. I think the media’s biggest fear is how far will Harry go now that they’ve riled up the ginger prince.
https://www.bylineinvestigates.com/
Yes! Another good account to follow is Hacked Off (I think it’s @hackinginquiry But it’s easy to find).
Under UK law, there does not seem to be any statute of limitations for such claims.
This is incorrect there is a 6 year limitation, and two people went to prison for this in 2000, at least for hacking into some of the people who work for both Harry and William. However, if you continued to propagate the original crime by hiding evidence which is what the lawsuit supposedly alleges according to more legitimate reporting avenues then you are not bound by the six years from when the crime was discovered. Since no one has read the suit yet, we will have to wait for confirmation on this and the Sussexes do seem to keep things close to the vest so we might not know what it really is all about for a while.
I think the SOL will not apply in this case as it only was recently confirmed that this really did happen i.e. enough evidence to make the case.
Harry is one of a number of high profile people who have only recently been notified about the nature and extent of the hacking.
Levensen 1 revealed the original extent, however I suspect this goes further and includes facts not previously brought into evidence = new cause of action.
Harry and chelsy were definitely hacked alongside will and Kate. The papers mocked her over how often she (a 20 year old) rang Harry (her boyfriend) while they lived on different continents. It was used to call both of them young and immature and needy cause they called each other nearly every day.
It’ll be very interesting to see what he has on them because I don’t think he’s going after them on a hunch. This has likely been months in the planning and he and his lawyers have everything they need.
I’m also interested to see the end game is here. Do they just want an apology? They’ve said any monetary winnings will be donated. Will they accept settlements or do they want to bring them to court sonthe public can see it all?
The way I see this, H&M seem to want it out in the light, to “prove” the bias/racist animosity ? As the saying goes, sunlight is the best disinfectant. Shine a light on those xenophobic, racists reporters, (and in my opinion take them down a few pegs, esp. Piss Morgan (thanks to the CBer who called him that a few days ago-perfect description!). This lawsuit will put them on notice you can’t get away with this sh!t with impunity!
The Fail has another Toxic Tom story again, still whining something about that letter Meg wrote (I refuse to click on it for details). It’s just never going to stop otherwise!
I saw the Toxic Tom story headline in the Fail, too, and like you I didn’t click on it. If we all avoid reading those stories, the Fail and the other tabs will lose the motivation to run them.
I can see them willing to go all the way to court, that way everything will be out in the public domain for everyone to judge. People need to see what the UK press have been up to and they need to be held accountable for breaking the law. People like Morgan need to go away, they need to be given a taste of their own medicine. Morgan has been a celebrity ass kisser for a LOOOOOONG time, he has always wanted to be a celebrity in his own right. He’s a nasty vile man who needs to be brought down as he has been leading the charge against Meghan and the Sussex’s – all because she wouldn’t meet him for a coffee or something. Old white man is butt hurt a pretty young woman turned him down.
I agree, it’s like the Trump Impeachment, even if nothing comes of it, much becomes public knowledge and the tabloids really won’t want that as their support and sales is already dwindling…. Bring it on Harry!!
From what I’ve read, the papers covered up and destroyed evidence about how hundreds (possibly thousands) of people were hacked. Harry has joined in a lawsuit with several other people. Tabloid reporters are hysterical and running scared. They are afraid of what may be revealed. That’s why we’re seeing a lot of concern troll posts and articles about Harry’s mental health. I support the Sussexes 100%. Freedom of the press does not mean you have the right to lie, bully, demean, and invade people’s privacy.
M — you are spot on once again!!!
I don’t know much about this Piers guy, just that he’s the one Meghan became friendly with until she got serious with Harry.
I think they should maybe live off the publicity trail for awhile since they seem to not like it. Their position is really more like Zara and Peter and their families, so maybe that is a better model for now while Archie is young.
It’s different for the Cambridges – as the heir, he has to be more visible.
“There position is like Zara and Peter”
Um no it’s not. First of all Harry and Meghan are working royals. Zara and Peter are not. Second of all, Harry will be the son, brother and uncle of 3 future Kings. Zara and Peter will not.
I would say Archie will probably be like Zara and Peter.
There is so much BS in this post…….there is a difference between tabloid reporting and actual reporting. It looks like some people can’t distinguish the two.
In the US, we do know tabloid reporting vs BS reporting vs actual reporting by reputable newspapers. I did ask here what are the reputable newspapers in the UK except the FT and the Economist. I was suggested the Guardian. When you follow Royals, they are covered by tabloids with so much noise that barely their work is mentioned. Meghan has had two very successful projects so far in less than 2 years. In between her projects, most reporting around her is just BS and completely useless. Where is the public interest in people reading the letter Meghan wrote? where is the public interest in spying on where they live? this has nothing to do with publicity just in case you didn’t know!
H&M are not akin to Zara but Archie is; hence why they might have decided not to give him a title. He can enjoy a normal life. H&M are working royals and at the moment Harry despite being the spare is at the same level as William who is the heir. Given the importance of the work done by Harry and the laziness of William, I wonder what you are talking about.
To conclude, no the press is not obligated to fawn upon them like they do with Kate, but the press can report and do their JOB. There is no need to print lies after lies. As we can see, some people don’t have the ability or even capacity to read beyond the headlines or take the time to read other newspapers to educate themselves
Maybe read ‘The Week’ which is politically neutral and a summary of key news. Everything else has a bias. Most of the papers, even the tabloidy ones, can produce fantastic journalism when they put their minds to it. Or Private Eye for humour.
She met him once. How is that “getting friendly”? And no, the Sussexes’ position is nothing like that of Asada and Peter. They are working, senior royals. While he is the spare, is still the son of the heir and is thus part of the (speculated) streamlined royal line-up when Charles becomes king.
Exactly. She met once, for drinks, when she was over doing publicity for “Suits”. He took a professional meeting as a sign she was going to be his new “buddy” (God knows in WHAT way!). From what I remember reading somewhere, after meeting Harry, he told her how toxic Piss Morgan and The Fail really are, and Meghan ghosted Piss after that. And that is what he’s REALLY mad about. His widdle (sp. incorrect on purpose!) feelings are personally hurt and he’s been running on revenge mode ever since.
@Jan……..isn’t he married? why isn’t his wife worried about his obsession with Meghan?
He is clearly obsessed with her…..it is scary
Yes he’s married but it doesn’t stop him. He cheated on his first wife with his second wife. The second wife was caught cheating on him then claimed it was for a story.
The truly gross part about him is, he has a daughter. If he understood Karma at all, he’d be cleaning up his act.
@VS, yes Piss Moron is married, and his wife has actually called him out on his obsession with Meghan…
Harry is a senior royal. His position is nothing like Zara and Peter. Harry and Meghan have no issues with publicity for their WORK. We don’t need access to their medical records, voicemails, emails, and private letters.
Meghan kept a low profile during her maternity leave (no official duties, no interviews), yet the media still obsessively reported on her more than any other higher ranked royal. Do you believe that the press would leave Harry and Meghan alone even if they stepped out of the spotlight? The answer is no.
M — why do you think there is so much interest in Meghan? The level of interest in her is close to the level of interest in Diana and maybe even worse with SM.
Is it because
1) she is a black?
2) american?
3) divorced?
4) she actually started working right after getting married and didn’t take a few years to adjust?
5) she married Harry?
6) she sells newspapers?
The woman definitely has charisma and has the ability to draw people in. I am just surprised by the craziness of it all. She was on maternity and you rightfully said, she was front and center even when she was OFF, that’s insane!!!
The gossipers keep saying the Cambridges are more popular, why don’t they then cover them more than the Sussexes?
VS,
I believe Meghan’s race and nationality are the main reasons for the obsessive press coverage. Would CNN, Fox News, BBC, and hundreds of other news outlets send correspondents to cover Harry if he had married a white British woman? The answer is no. Harry has been on several royal tours and none of them received this much attention and scrutiny until he married Meghan.
Prince Edward was recently in Australia with no press coverage. His wife Sophie was in Kenya and made a speech, still no press coverage. They also have young children, and the media and internet trolls are not demanding weekly photos and updates about them.
It is odd that the Cambridges are considered to be more popular, yet people are way more obsessed/interested in what Harry and Meghan are doing. The Cambridges should receive more press, but all reporters can talk about are the Sussexes. When you look at the comments under a post about Will and Kate, most of the people are taking shots at Harry and Meghan.
I think that Meghan is the UK’s version of Obama. Some of us have forgotten the obsessive and ridiculous news coverage Obama received during his presidency. Everything he and his family ate, wore, and touched was scrutinized and described as something suspicious. Some people have issues with POC rising to the highest levels.
“I think that Meghan is the UK’s version of Obama. Some of us have forgotten the obsessive and ridiculous news coverage Obama received during his presidency. Everything he and his family ate, wore, and touched was scrutinized and described as something suspicious. Some people have issues with POC rising to the highest levels.”
Truer words have never been spoken……..I do remember the Obama years; I used to despise Trump but I started hating him during the birth certificate crap….never had I seen so much hate coming from a person. Melania Trump ….I have no words to describe her that should be seen online. She is just as despicable as her husband!
Just for that, Meghan’s projects will always have my support!
Harry has always got more publicity than his brother—even his solo tours were front page news and the whole royal rota would follow him.
I think anyway Harry married would be commented on a great deal and likely more than Catherine, in the short run at least. Look at how much attention Chelsy and Cressida got and STILL get versus William’s exes.
But with Meghan, the scrutiny has reached levels that I think has surprised everyone, including Harry. And I think its because of the reasons listed above. She is a “first” in a time of great political and social upheaval in the UK. Will the history books remember Sophie, Fergie or even Kate? IDK, but they WILL remember Meghan (and Diana) simply because Meghan is the first WOC (plus an American) etc. in the family and historic by dint of that alone. That coupled with the rise of far-right ideology in the UK and resurgence of white nationalism means she is a lightning rod for a variety of larger social changes and issues.
@Bookworm you need to read up on Piers Morgan before commenting. He has truly been a scourge in this world for decades. It goes way back before Meghan was on the scene. He’s ruined lives.
@M it’s hysterical how some media outlets keep insisting that the Cambridges are more popular, despite all evidence to the contrary.
I honestly think this is a way to take Piers down once and for all and the phone hacking was probably the best case they could find which had the highest chance of the Sussexes winning
My thoughts exactly. Piers attacks on Meghan come from a personal place and he’s using his privilege in the media to constantly vilify and bully her. It’s disturbing.
See my comment above: I also believe it’s “personal” for him. I think he took a fancy to her in a VERY personal way (even though he was married), and when she ghosted him, he took it as a jilted “suitor”. He wants to HURT her (and by extension, Harry, for being the one who told Meghan to steer clear of Piss and The Fail (and all tabs). Morgan is slime personified.
@Sofia ITA. I’m not even religious but I’m praying that it works!
Prince Harry is really impressing me but I shouldn’t be surprised.
For him to challenge the British media so boldly and methodically shows he is a great planner.
Even if Harry and Meghan dont win every lawsuit they are showing the world they are ready to fight.
Meg is pretty media-savvy, and I say whatever combo of their minds is making this happen, BRAVO! I hope they bring those tabs/RRs to their knees and expose them all! I think Harry has always hated the tabs, but it is MEGHAN’S mind that is steering this ship, that, and his anger at what the tabs are doing to the woman he loves. Otherwise, he would’ve done this before on his own.
+1
We will see how good some of these reporters are with their reporting on this lawsuit. Since no one has read the suit yet, but we do have confirmation from Buckingham palace it’s about voicemail hacking. The Guardian is reporting they believe through sources this is old voicemail hacking but with a twist. It’s supposedly about the destruction of the evidence of this hacking for 20 years. Since there is a 6 year statute of limitations from knowledge of such crime and suit, and two people were actually jailed for this crime in 2000, this new crime would be the destruction of it. Supposedly he is part of a group civil suit and this information would be heard in October 2020. I know people think Harry and his lawyers wouldn’t do this if they didn’t have solid proof, but apparently a lot of lawyers or solicitors are doing this and have been for a while now. Maybe they all have solid proof, however, if he is going after Piers Morgan and the executives apparently in the criminal case they were not pursued criminally for it, while others were. One thing for sure is both of these cases have to deal with privacy, and Harry’s message also dealt a lot with privacy, and it’s obvious he has a big concern with this. I guess we will see as people get to read the lawsuit what specifically it is about.
Piss Moron and Rebekah Wade got away with it (despite 2 reporters being jailed) even though they sanctioned all of the hacking as editors of the papers at the time, I believe they lied under oath at the Leveson enquiry which I suspect is why perjury is mentioned in the suit…. Rebekah still works for the Murdoch empire… and we all know where Piss Moron is now unfortunately…
That may be true, but Piers has not been editor since 2004, and the Crown Prosecution Service stated they did not find evidence that they knew about it. Interesting title considering part of the crowns people are now suing. Personally, I agree with you, but this is kind of old news and may be difficult since they didn’t do it at the time.
Now some people are making a group case and have been since 2011 and it seems if the more reputable reporters are right, Harry joined this. We will see if that is true or where it goes. If it is true they have a date to appear on Oct 2020, so it’s a bit away. I still feel like Harry’s suit may be something else and not this particular hacking, but who knows.
Rebekah Brooks was very well connected to the PM’s of both parties whilst she was chief at News International.
In fact Tony Blair advised her about what to say during Levensen, which meant that although she relinquished her position she was (1) not convicted (2) got a 10 million pounds pay off and (3) appointed as CEO to a sister company (i.e. phoenix company of News International) 2-3 years later.
Piers was in turn protected by Murdoch.
Rebekah and Piers are effectively Murdoch’s foot soldiers. The earnings they disclose are paltry as compared to the blood money they are paid behind the scenes for taking punches for Murdoch.
I think you’d be hard pressed to find person with any kind of profile in the U.K. who WASNT hacked. So many have settled claims- even very minor celebrities. That’s why news orgs like Trinity Mirror group showed in accounts they had set aside millions for phone hacking claims. Harry’s action is joined with others& id be surprised if it wasn’t a strong claim.
Media is shook as few of them want Levenson 2 inquiry& these bad practices in the spotlight again. That’s why they’ve always settled. It’s also why they are calling Harry nuts& saying he’s gone rogue. I also think they are subliminally warning him that risk of all royal tea being spilled if he comes for top media guys.
As I predicted Thomas snr has been rolled out and has said his Fail journalist handler was with him when he tried calling Meghan. I’m assuming the plan may have been to record the call without her knowledge so makes me wonder of their activities around Snr.
Boris Johnson is also apparently daring the Queen to hire him if he tries to force exit of the EU on 31 October which would be unlawful. The fireworks in this season of the Crown!
Media is shook as few of them want Levenson 2 inquiry& these bad practices in the spotlight again.
@Rogue – yes, this. Theresa May’s government decided to bury it and supposedly that was that (a former Daily Mail editor was her media advisor, iirc). Now with Prince Harry’s involvement, it’s come back to bear. Which is good, the tabloids are absolutely poison over here.
The more I learn of the power and behavior of the British media, especially the tabloids, it is simply terrifying. Someone referred to them as organized crime and even that doesn’t do justice by their tactics. They’ve literally destroyed people’s lives.
@Rogue, re: your second paragraph — is it possible that Harry knows this will spur them on to spill all of the royal tea they’ve been sitting on for all of these years, but that it’s okay with him because he isn’t implicated in most of it?
From what I’ve read, it sounds like there are far more stories of William’s behavior over the years being covered up due to his position.
Maybe this is partly revenge on his brother for his treatment of Meghan? (And yes my tinfoil hat is on securely, but this doesn’t seem like an impossible scenario!)
Oooohhhh good point, we know they are sitting on a story about William and roses….
Agree. Perhaps Harry simply doesn’t care where the chips fall. Why should he care if dirt comes out about William or Andrew…especially considering how his wife as been left out to dry by the BRF.
EXACTLY
Piers is trying to tell the RRs to not cover the Sussexes engagements, but I’m trying to think of any engagement of Meghan’s that they(besides possibly Omid and Victoria) that was positively covered and focused on what she was doing? I talking before the recent tour.
The Sussexes will be fine if the British tabs aren’t covering them
The irony is that he’s still tweeting about them today. He’s obsessed, and his followers are calling him out on his hypocrisy.
The Sussexes do not need traditional media outlets anymore. I think that’s what scares the royal reporters the most. You have some YouTube vloggers who have more followers and viewers than several top news stations. If Harry and Meghan wanted to, they could hire their own videographers and start their own media channel.
I really wonder what Piers’ wife thinks of all this. Obviously there’s something seriously wrong with her in the first place for marrying him, but his complete obsession with Meghan is so evident.
This is exactly why Meghan would have been told to leave Piers behind which he knows but it’s just more fun to bash her and say she ghosted him.
Sorry should say “fire” not “hire” on relation to Boris& the Queen.
Lots of downplaying the Meghan criticism by different journalists to suggest it’s been limited to double standards over private jets or not following protocol& showing Archie when he was born.
Also seeing lots of commentators deflecting- suggesting if Sussexes can’t handle spotlight they might be better off leaving royal family. No comment on the bad reporting though.
The end game of this is going to be interesting, I’ve got my popcorn!
I have loathed Piers Morgan long before I ever heard of Meghan Markle. If they take down Morgan I will become a royalist!
I don’t have any problems with suing for hacking into voicemails. I think everyone is entitled to privacy. However, I do think it sets a bad precedent for any public figure who lives on tax payers money to threaten the press. If something is a lie then just deny it and say it is a lie. I feel that way about Prince William threatening to sue the press for the Rose Hanbury thing too (but not for the topless photos). In general, I think there should be a free press (although I have no idea what the British press laws are).
Lina. You post is misinformed.
You consider that these lawsuits mean H&M don’t want a free press?
WOW………..misinformation is a powerful tool; there is nothing quite as dangerous as a misinformed individual; did you even read what the complains were about? did you even take 15 min to do that?
I shouldn’t be surprised, after all, Trump was elected President!!!
Have you read them? That would be really interesting considering this particular suit isn’t available to be read yet, nor is anyone 100% sure what it is exactly about just hacking according to a slim statement from Buckingham Palace. FYI that means the Queen and Charles know, so that old story can go to rest. Still is the case the old late 90’s – 2010 episodes or something else? You may have read Harry’s statement on their website about Meghan’s lawsuit to the Daily Mail on Sunday. This lawsuit in this story isn’t really defined, other than it is about hacking of phones. No one knows for sure when where or what his complaint is. A lot is conjecture and reputable news sources are only saying sources believe, they aren’t even willing to say it is this. Yes I agree misinformation is a powerful tool!!! Pot meet kettle.
yes free press is cornerstone of democracy but that doesn’t give them impunity to break the law. Some in the uk press have acted like mafiosos. Right to privacy& family life also established in uk law& with Rose allegations press maybe didn’t have proof or grounds to justify publishing a piece
That’s a much too simplistic opinion. The British gutter press have a HUGE audience for the crap they spew. They have taken advantage of, even created, a niche in the media that feeds off of the public’s ravenous need for “dirt” on royals and celebrities, and if they can’t find real dirt they’ll make it up. It’s a filthy, rotten business that pries illegally into someone’s personal life. They royals do NOT have to share intimate details of their personal lives, they willingly share information about their philanthropic work and charities and that’s ALL they are obliged to share. How would you feel if someone hacked into your personal phone calls, went through your garbage, found out information on your finances, feuds, sex life, whatever? You’d feel violated and I applaud Harry and Meghan for taking this step.
I don’t think that anyone’s phones should be hacked at all (by newspapers or governments) and I don’t have a problem with Harry suing for those reasons. Edward Snowden was a whistleblower that revealed a mass surveillance programme spying on people. I think all victims of this deserve a payout.
My issue is that Meghan and Harry are not the only public figures in the world; politicians are also public figures and the same rules will have to apply to all public figures. If a politician is locking people up for smoking weed and then smokes weed regularly in real life – should that not be discussed because it is their private life? Similarly in the past, if there have been politicians who were against gay marriage or prostitution and were then caught in gay relationships or with prostitutes- should that not have been covered because it is part of their private life? If the press mocks them for these things does that constitute bullying too? Where do you draw the line?
As for the Prince William / Rose Hanbury situation I think there should have been a denial rather than a threat by lawyers. There should be nothing illegal about the press reporting that there is a rumor of an affair and there should also be no problem with the Palace issuing a denial and shutting down the story. I definitely think that suing and controlling the press narrative is a slippery slope.
I think the racist and double standards headlines are disgusting and Meghan and Harry should have had their PR team call these headlines out directly from the beginning. The statement mentioned lies but didn’t call out all of the lies. This was handled badly by their PR team. Whenever there was a false story the PR team should have issued a straight denial like they did with the Meghan and Kate argument over treatment of her staff. Instead they let a narrative build when they could easily have shut it down.
The statement mentioned that the Mail on Sunday published the letter and also edited the letter to make Meghan look bad. Meghan had her friends speak to People and discussed parts of the letter. She had no problem with having parts of the letter exposed to the public that made her look good so it seems disingenuous to pretend to be upset in publishing and editing the letter. It does seem to me that the Mail on Sunday did edit the letter to make her look bad. She should have just come out and been direct about the family situation instead of playing these media games through her friends. It has been discussed that Meghan planned this knowing the letter would be published. The whole letter thing seems orchestrated and disingenuous. I don’t think making this a part of the statement will benefit her that much in terms of the public opinion. Her family situation is just dysfunctional and disturbing AF.
Also there are left and right wing news stations on TV and they lie by omission all the time to make the other side look bad. Should politicians sue these networks as well? I think the solution to false speech is more speech and not restricted speech. That is my opinion.
They shared their PR team with KP and they only denied stories with Kate in them. I recall many stories around the height of the smear campaign where Harry wanted to make a statement against it, but aides were stopping him from doing so. It is also true that there were many stories where Meghan wanted to come out and speak out/defend herself against the Markles – again the palace stopped her from doing so.
I seem to have read Lina’s comment differently. To me, it seems that she completely approves of suing in a situation like this, but is pointing out that it can be a slippery slope. And living under the Trump administration, I don’t necessarily disagree. But this particular suit is absolutely warranted.
I think that hacking someone’s phone is a pretty big deal regardless or whether or not they get money from the taxpayer. By that definition all Britons who wok for the government get taxpayer money and thus should have their phones hacked too.
Outside of the concealment of crimes, there is no reason for phones to be hacked.
Piers is screeching on Twitter because Harry’s lawsuit may expose his role in the phone hacking scandal while he was editor of the Mirror. If there is proof he can kiss GMB goodbye.
@Kaiser it was mostly called The Leveson Inquiry or The News of the World hacking scandal.
All I know is that Meghan and Harry came back from a successful tour around this time last year and then had a barrage of negative publicity launched at them that was so bad that by Christmas, Meghan and Kate had to do “damage control” huggy photos at Sandringham and Harry and William could barely look at each other.
The press got the message from the inside the palace that it was game on to take these two down. Harry probably listened to advice from the same people who sold him out to wait it out, but it got worse. I suspect the the final straw was messing up his press launch in Amsterdam recently for that travel app. Suing the press in such a loud way will put them on notice, that’s just the reality. I do think you’ll see a shift even if they grumble about it anonymously.
I don’t know. I think Harry should be cautious. The press has a lot of power to influence how high profile people are perceived, for better or worse. True: they have chosen to show H&M in an unflattering light in recent months, but IMO this lawsuit will not stop that.
I’d suggest he work on actively repairing relationships, if that can be done.
This approach may just make things worse.
No one knows what has transpired behind the scenes. Apparently, H&M did try to negotiate with the Mail before filing the lawsuit. It appears that the RRs and tabloids want access on their terms only and H&M have refused to allow that sort of intrusion into their private lives. No one should be bullied and take it for the sake of getting along. At some point you have to take a stand.
Let it be the time they end The Sun for once and for all. Literally the worst paper in history, I’ll never forget the disgusting way they covered the Hillsborough story. Absolutely atrocious. Also they are already running fluffy pieces about Meghan, as expected.
There are so over the top, not going to stop the lawsuits.
They.
This begs the question: did Meghan get wrongfully accused of spilling the beans on Williams affair? Perhaps the real culprit was the media hacking and that’s why they were willing to bury it so quickly?
Where did you get that Meghan spill the beans on William and 🌹? What would she know about Norfolk folks?
Have you ever seem a story about Meghan gossiping about others? She been around long enough to see her MO.
@Yoyo Blind Gossip has a number of blind items that implicate Meghan in all sorts of things. And the blind items are so transparent that they are hardly blind; they are very obviously supposed to be about Meghan wreaking havoc in the British Royal Family. One implies that she is the one who spread the information about William’s affair with Rose and that the family got mad at her and banned her from some royal event (never mind the fact that said event happened during her maternity leave but you know, whatever). I have wondered for awhile whether someone at Blind Gossip has it in for Meghan or whether someone who hates her regularly gives Blind Gossip information.
@YOYO, I remember reading that Meghan was being accused of being the one that leaked the story to the press and that she had gotten the information from Harry after William had specifically asked that he not share it with her. Supposedly that was a major contributing factor to why the brothers are fighting the way they are. Wouldn’t it be a shocker if in fact they just got hacked and the media has been playing the brothers off each other.
That’s not what begging the question means, but beyond that, the phone hacking goes back far before Meghan or Rose were in the Wales’ boys lives.
William’s “alleged” affair has nothing to do with Meghan and Harry. The story got buried because William is the future king and I imagine the Queen and Prince Charles had some stern words for the media reporting on it. However Meghan and Harry are fair game so they pick on them (Meghan mostly because she’s a POC “parvenu” former actress and divorcee). Only they picked on the wrong person. Meghan is very savvy at working the media. She gave them enough rope and they finally hung themselves while she worked successfully on several great projects, had a baby and kept a big smile on her face for the public.
How is Meghan in any way connected to these people and why would she leak information on this situation, especially to the tabloids that despise her? What I find interesting is that at the Trump state dinner, Rose arrived with Sarah Vine, the one who’s always writing thinly veiled racist headlines about Meghan, who prefers real royalty to fashion royalty. Rose also worked for Vine’s husband, powder nose Brexiteer MP Michael Gove. Who better a source for leaks than the lady herself, who has direct contact with the Cambridge’s. I don’t think Meghan is anywhere near that situation and she has bigger things to deal with than Norfolk nonsense.
The Courtiers still can’t get over Meghan choosing her OB-GYN and where to give birth, and not posing on the steps a few hours after delivering a child.
Now you know why she chose her own Drs and the place to give birth, without telling the courtiers, can you imagine the headlines from the tabloids.
Thomas thinks he is so smart, maybe the MoS will bring him over to testify and the lawyers will tear him to shreds, he put himself in this mess, so he deserves everything that comes his way.
Scammy was having a cow, about Archbishop Tutu kissing Archie, and Thomas can’t see him.
I think Harry joined this class -action law suit that is already underway, it didn’t initiate it. I wish someone could explain the legal aspects of it to non UK people. This is definitely about Piers Morgan. Someone did a screen grab of 18 anti- Meghan columns he’s written about her since their marriage. That’s just in print, and not his tv screeds. I avoid reading Morgan, but screen grabs show him posting some unhinged tweets, roping Hugh Grant in, saying boycott Sussexes engagements, then being called out that he never mentions their engagements, just attacks Meghan. Usually when people being sued they have no comment but Morgan sweating in Twitter and the Fail trotting out Thomas Markle again. Why does he keep talking to Them? It’s just ludicrous and unhinged. The Mirror has some weird fawning Meghan headline that is being mocked it’s so ridiculous. And seems like the EU is making Boris squirm on another Brexit extension. This is so bonkers.
I remember the original scandal. The tabloid rags were hacking into a young murder victim’s voicemail, before her body was found, confusing the family and giving them false hope she was still alive. Not enough people went down for it all the first time. Morgan should not have a career.
I always felt disgusted by the entitlement tabloids (and some regular people) think they have over private affairs of public people.
I used to follow a blog about the UK royals; it has changed hands a number of times the last few years. The commenters are loathesome to the nth degree. They’re fixated on MM and screech about her wrinkled wedding gown (have they never seen pictures of Grace Kelly’s gown, the gold standard for wedding gowns?), breaking protocol though never explaining what protocol was broken, her pillow belly during her pregnancy, the never ending assaults on her character and yes, that MM blew the whistle on William’s alleged affair.
Beech, there are so many blogs/ sites like that about M&K but the royals cannot shut down public opinion on these types of sites. So why bring that up?? Publicly funded individuals are going to be criticised. A lot of these things aren’t even real critiques, just obsessed people whining, but what can you do? If you’re implying Harry wants to shut down comment sections lol good luck with that Prince Harry!
Many of those hate sites have gone beyond criticism to dangerous and illegal behavior, including the attempt to attack Meghan in a public place. No doubt they are being tracked by MI6.
Dad needs to keep his mouth shut. The Fail got Dad to admit he sent PARTS of the letter to it because Harry stated parts of the letter was redacted and DM said it didn’t do it. Evil Papa Smurf probably cut out stuff that made him look really bad; stuff that can be proven independently. DM is setting up Bad Dad to take the fall.
Evil Papa Smurf must be getting a big payoff from the Fail to admit to sending parts of the letter. The Fail is setting him up so they can escape liability for printing the letter. If the case goes to trial doesn’t everything have to be divulged? Who got paid what and when?
Or…the Fail threatened Dad with exposure: you faked a heart attack, you lied about paying Meghan’s college bills, you want a reconciliation so you can spy on the Sussexes and sell the information to the highest bidder. The oppo research will be sent to an American outlet like People.
Hopefully we will find out during the trial exactly how much Thomas was paid and when 🍿
Yes if it goes to trial the Fail will have to provide EVERYTHING and that includes all communications between them and Evil Papa Smurf over it (and this inc. all negotiation around it), details of payments (when and how) and proof they got permission to print it. I agree they are stitching him up as UK law doesn’t apply to him. The fact that he is doing whatever the Fail tells him to shows just how stupid he is, how much he is LOVING the media attention and well how much dirt do they have on him that if he doesn’t back them up they will print it all. They’ve got the evil one by the balls.
The Fail will also have to prove to a court that they only got parts of the letter and show what lengths they went to get permission from the copyright holder – which isn’t Daddy of the century. He owns the physical letter but the contents are Meghan’s copyright.
Now the Sun has an article about Meghan’s “mark of style” praising her for recycling outfits while on tour – tabloids so obvious with their about-face now they’re being sued – LOL!!
They also have a story up right now that says, I sh!t you not,
“…she’s such a good mother ❤️“
It’s like, nice try, Sun, but they’re not dropping the lawsuit.
This is my favourite footage of Piers “keyboard warrior” Morgan.
He disparaged cricket players for not being tough enough and claiming that HE would do better. “Morgan had questioned the courage of the England batsmen during the disastrous series, saying the team had gone “soft” and “needed to grow a pair”.
“Morgan challenged [Australian bowler Brett] Lee to a duel via Twitter to prove a point to the English batsmen about courage under fire”. The result:
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/video/2013/dec/27/piers-morgan-brett-lee-over-cricket
Guest, I’m not implying anything, but only that a royal blog that would be frothy reading has over time grown to despicable levels of venom targeting MM while ignoring any press on Prince Andrew.
Meghan and Harry are not using the lawyers from the firm. Very interesting statement about who they have representing them. This couple is using modern technology to communicate with the world and their fans. Print media is slowly dying because people are using the internet to get their news and other info. From I have read so far, the statue in the UK is pretty clear about copyrighted material. I am praying they win and don’t let shitstains push them around to say what they want without a challenge in court. I do believe they have been working on going to court for a very long time. Their tour in Australia, Meghan’s pregnancy and birth of their child, and the tour of South Africa gave them time to dot all i’s and cross all t’s before filing their case.
Does everyone leave long-winded voicemails? That is what I don’t get with this voicemail hacking. All I ever get is, ‘can you call me back’, I don’t go into great details about someone’s life on a VM.