Piers Morgan has, for a long time, been a controversial figure of the British media landscape. While some love his blunt way of expressing his opinion, others have called him out on his behaviour.
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In December 2023, a High Court judge ruled that Piers Morgan was ‘aware of phone hacking taking place’ at his previous employment place Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN). Between 1995 and 2004, Morgan was editor-in-chief of the Daily Mirror.
Though Piers Morgan vehemently defended himself in a statement read outside his house, Byline Times reports that the renewed interest in his involvement in phone-hacking is boosting calls for the presenter to be investigated again.
A renewed interest in Piers Morgan
Speaking to Byline Times, media lawyer Jonathan Coan explained that he believes that the ruling of Prince Harry’s case changes things and ‘offers a compelling case for investigation of the Mirror Group’.
Coan states:
Prince Harry’s seismic win over Mirror Group Newspapers has summoned the chickens home to roost,
Adding,
Despite the publisher’s expenditure of millions in legal fees to cover it up, the judge found such a plethora of law-breaking at Piers Morgan’s Mirror that for any public confidence to survive in the criminal justice system as applies to the behemoths of Fleet Street, there must now be a full investigation by the Metropolitan Police.
The lawyer also mentions that during the 2011-12 Leveson Inquiry, which looked into the ‘culture, practices and ethics of the press’, bosses of the Mirror Group denied the knowledge of ‘newsroom crimes’ - which now needs to be reconsidered through the Prince Harry case.
Piers Morgan’s involvement is mentioned many times in Byline’s article, especially considering the fact that Gary Jones and a ‘string of Morgan-connected editors and senior staff’ were found by Judge Fancourt (ruling on the Prince Harry trial) to have been ‘heavily involved in the commission of illegal spying’.
Piers Morgan denies involevement
After the judge’s ruling in December 2023, Piers Morgan reiterated in a statement that he was not involved in any phone hacking.
Reading his carefully crafted statement, Morgan said:
To be clear, I had then and still have zero knowledge of how that particular story was gathered.
I've never hacked a phone or told anyone else to hack a phone
At the time, Morgan criticised the fact that he wasn’t asked to be a witness during the trial and wasn’t asked to testify. However, even though his presence didn’t seem to be needed, Judge Fancourt still found that it was ‘convincing’ that Piers Morgan was aware of the phone hacking taking place while he was editor.
Piers Morgan’s criticism of the Sussexes
Now as more people seem to be interested in Morgan’s involvement due to Prince Harry’s case, his vehement criticism of the Sussexes is sure to reach new heights.
Already in his December statement, Morgan took the time to attack the Prince; saying that he was ‘on a mission to reform the media’ as well as ‘destroy the monarchy’.
Also stating that ‘Prince Harry's outrage at media intrusion’ into the lives of members of the Royal Family ‘is only matched by his own ruthless, greedy and hypocritical enthusiasm for doing it himself.’
Prior to that, Morgan has been a constant critic of the Duchess of Sussex and the couple is often a topic of discussion on his TalkTV show. His criticism of Meghan Markle even led to him storming off and never returning to Good Morning Britain in 2021 when co-host Alex Beresford called his comments on the royal ‘pathetic’ and ‘diabolical’.
In January 2024, Piers Morgan commented back on the same topic that triggered the GMB row. To this day, Morgan seems to refuse to let go of his feud with Meghan Markle and Prince Harry.
Read more:
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Sources:
BBC News: Piers Morgan denies hacking after judge rules Harry was Mirror victim
Byline Times: Time for Truth: Calls Grow for Police Probe into Piers Morgan and Mirror Editors
Sky News: 'I've never hacked a phone': Piers Morgan's defence as he launches rant against Prince Harry
The Guardian: Piers Morgan storms off set of Good Morning Britain in Meghan row
Metro: It’s 2024 and Piers Morgan is still talking about Meghan Markle
