London police to "carefully consider" Prince Harry phone hacking ruling

[December 16, 2023]  LONDON (Reuters) - London's police said they will "carefully consider" the findings of a court ruling that found Prince Harry had been a victim of phone hacking and other unlawful acts by Mirror Group journalists with the knowledge of their editors.  

Britain's Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, departs the Rolls Building of the High Court in London, Britain June 7, 2023. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo

King Charles' younger son, who became the first senior British royal for 130 years to give evidence in court when he appeared at a trial in June, was awarded 140,600 pounds ($178,000) on Friday after the judge agreed he had been targeted by journalists working for Mirror Group Newspapers.

A spokeswoman for London's police said that it would "carefully consider" the judgment in the civil case, adding: "There is no ongoing investigation."

Since stepping down from royal duties in 2020 and moving to California with his U.S. wife Meghan, the Duke of Sussex has made it his mission to rid the British press of those he accuses of being "criminals masquerading as journalists", especially senior executives and editors.

The court's ruling said among the editors who knew about the "widespread" unlawful behaviour was high-profile broadcaster Piers Morgan, the Daily Mirror editor from 1996 to 2004, who has become a leading critic of Harry and Meghan.

Morgan later angrily denied he was aware of phone hacking during his time as editor.

($1 = 0.7890 pounds)

(Reporting by Andrew MacAskill; Editing by Alison Williams)

[© 2023 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2022 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.  Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.