Prince Harry ‘resolves’ phone hacking lawsuit, criticizes Piers Morgan

Prince Harry criticised Piers Morgan as he has been awarded “substantial” damages in his phone hacking case against the publisher of the Daily Mirror.

The Duke of Sussex “continued attacks” against him after he reached a settlement with Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN) on Friday, which includes an interim payment towards the costs of £400,000.

In a statement read outside the High Court by his barrister David Sherborne, Harry, 39, said: “In light of this, we call again for the authorities to uphold the rule of law and to prove that no one is above it. That includes Mr Morgan, who as editor knew perfectly well what was going on, as the judge held.”

He added: “His contempt for the court’s ruling and his continued attacks ever since demonstrate why it was so important to obtain a clear and detailed judgment.”

In December, a judge ruled at the same court that Mr Morgan knew about and was involved in phone hacking when he was editor of the Daily Mirror as the duke won damages of £140,600 against MGN.

Speaking to reporters outside his west London home in December, Mr Morgan responded to the ruling: “I want to reiterate, as I’ve consistently said for many years now – I’ve never hacked a phone or told anybody else to hack a phone. And nobody has produced any actual evidence to prove that I did.”

In his statement made on Friday, the duke said his “mission continues” as he believes in the “positive change it will bring for all of us”, as he continues his legal battles against the tabloid media.

It comes after a trial last June, in which the duke became the first royal to step inside the witness box, the judge found that 15 out of 33 articles under consideration had been the product of unlawful information gathering.

Harry was not in court for Friday's hearing, having made a flying trip to Britain earlier this week to see the king after his father told him he had been diagnosed with a form of cancer.