When did Piers Morgan work as an editor at Mirror? British broadcaster denies knowledge of hacking after Prince Harry's court win

According to Reuters, a judge concluded that Piers Morgan engaged in phone hacking practices while working for the Daily Mirror from 1995 to 2004.

The judge’s statement read that there “can be no doubt” he knew about the practice while he was associated with the newspaper. Justice Fancourt added, that Morgan was “no fool” and “knew that his journalists were involved in phone hacking.” This decision follows Prince Harry's accusation of phone hacking and intimidation against Morgan in July 2023.

Piers Morgan allegedly said that no evidence was presented to substantiate this accusation. He alleges that the judge relied on the testimony of Omid Scobie, who lied in his new book.

Judge Justice Fancourt also found illegal information being spread at the Daily Mirror from 1996.

Controversy among Piers Morgan and Harry is sparked

Piers Morgan (Images via Instagram/@piersmorgan)

Morgan has now been working for News Corp and is known for publicly criticizing Harry and his wife, Meghan. According to Morgan, the judge is allegedly using the evidence provided by Omid Scobie, co-author of the book "Finding Freedom", an unofficial 2020 biography of Harry and Meghan. As per the evidence, Morgan was presumably "reassured" after learning that a 2002 report about singer Kylie Minogue and her then-partner James Gooding came via voicemail interception. Fancourt indicated in his written ruling on Friday that Scobie was "a straightforward and reliable witness".

Piers Morgan was fired as the editor of Daily Mirror in 2004 after he worked with the newspaper for more than eight and a half years. He was fired as he had put up fake pictures of soldiers of Britain abusing an Iraqi prisoner. Both the government and the military took all the necessary steps to prove that the images were false. It was called a “calculated and malicious” hoax by the members of the news board.

Morgan has been known for sensationalism and news headlines that create ripples. While Morgan abstained from any comments, Judge Fancourt also added that the editors not only had knowledge but also were happy with the benefits of the voicemail interpretation being used at large.

Sly Bailey – chief executive of MGN, which was previously under the parenthood of Trinity Mirror (now called Reach) was also found to have known about this habitual usage of voicemail interpretation.

Following the ruling, Harry requested that the police and regulatory agencies conduct an inquiry into other probable criminal violations.

Morgan responded by accusing Harry of attempting to ruin the image of the British monarchy. He claimed the Duke of Sussex had "repeatedly trashed his family in public for hundreds of millions of dollars" and that his "outrage at media intrusion into the private lives of the Royal family is only matched by his own ruthless, greedy, and hypocritical enthusiasm for doing it himself".