‘State of press and government at rock bottom’, Prince Harry tells court

Prince Harry appeared at the high court in London on Tuesday to give evidence in his lawsuit against the publisher of British tabloid the Daily Mirror, which he accuses of phone-hacking and other unlawful acts.

Here are quotes and highlights from the courtroom where Harry is due to face hours of cross-examination in the witness box on Tuesday and Wednesday:

APOLOGY

Andrew Green, Mirror Group Newspapers' (MGN) lawyer, began his cross-examination by personally apologising to Harry on his client's behalf in relation to one instance of unlawful information gathering.

"MGN unreservedly apologises to you for that," Green said.

"It should never have happened and it will not happen again."

If the court decides MGN committed unlawful information gathering on other occasions, "you will be entitled to and you will receive a more extensive apology", Green said.

NEWSPAPER ARTICLES 

Harry was asked if he recalled reading any articles that form part of his lawsuit at the time, to which the prince said he could not specifically recall reading the articles at the time they were published.

Green said: "If you do not recall seeing it at the time of publication, how and when did they cause you distress?"

Harry said: "The vast majority of (the articles) were read by other people within my circle. Their behaviour inevitably changed around me and I was told about some of the articles.

"Finding out about unlawful methods of how the information in these articles was obtained certainly shocked me."

HOSTILITY TOWARDS THE PRESS

Harry: "I have experienced hostility from the press since I was born".

Asked if he felt hostility to the press he said: "Yes, that's correct."

STATE OF PRESS AND GOVERNMENT AT ROCK BOTTOM

"On a national level, at the moment, our country is judged globally by the state of our press and our government, both of which I believe are at rock bottom," Harry said in a written witness statement.

"Democracy fails when your press fails to scrutinise and hold the government accountable, and instead choose to get into bed with them so they can ensure the status quo.

"I may not have a role within the Institution but, as a member of the British Royal family, and as a soldier upholding important values, I feel there’s a responsibility to expose this criminal activity in the name of public interest."

ON PIERS MORGAN

Harry said in the witness statement: "Again, the thought of Piers Morgan and his band of journalists earwigging into my mother's private and sensitive messages (in the same way as they have me), and then having given her a 'nightmare time' three months prior to her death in Paris, makes me feel physically sick and even more determined to hold those responsible, including Mr Morgan, accountable for their vile and entirely unjustified behaviour.

"Unfortunately, as a consequence of me bringing my Mirror Group claim, both myself and my wife have been subjected to a barrage of horrific personal attacks and intimidation from Piers Morgan, who was the editor of the Daily Mirror between 1995 and 2004, presumably in retaliation and in the hope I will back down, before being able to hold him properly accountable for his unlawful activity towards both me and my mother during his editorship."

BLOOD ON THEIR HANDS?

Harry was asked about a passage in his witness statement referring to "appalling" behaviour by the British press in which he said: "How much more blood will stain their typing fingers before someone can put a stop to this madness?"

Green asked if Harry was suggesting MGN journalists who wrote the articles at the centre of his lawsuit had "blood on their hands".

Harry replied: "Some of the editors and journalists are responsible for causing a lot of pain, upset and, in some cases, perhaps inadvertently, death."

Reuters