Piers Morgan today warned that he ‘won’t be silent when it’s all over’ after Prince Harry hit out at the former Daily Mirror editor in his High Court hacking case.
Asked about the Duke of Sussex’s appearance in the witness box, Morgan also joked: ‘I didn’t see it but I wish him luck with his privacy campaign – look forward to reading it in his next book.’
Harry claimed in court documents that Morgan unleashed ‘a barrage of horrific personal attacks and intimidation’ against him and his wife Meghan Markle.
The Duke added this was ‘as a consequence of me bringing my Mirror Group claim’ and was ‘presumably in retaliation and in the hope that 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’.
This morning Morgan, who was editor of the Daily Mirror from 1995 to 2004 and has always denied phone hacking, was asked near his London home for comment.
He told ITN: ‘The sensible way forward is for everybody to wait for everything to finish and then have their say. I’ve never been known for my silence and I suspect I won’t be silent when it’s all over.’
The Duke of Sussex arriving at the High Court in London today for his second day of evidence
Former Daily Mirror newspaper editor Piers Morgan walks near his London home this morning
He added: ‘But it would be remiss of me to comment while it’s all ongoing and I’m sure you understand that. I can’t talk about the case, much as I’ve obviously got opinions, they’re going to have to wait until it’s all over.
‘I’m confident that I can’t say anything until this is over. I would love to, as you can probably imagine, but unusually I’m going to maintain a dignified silence until it’s all over.’
Morgan was also asked by Sky News about Harry’s claims when he left his home yesterday afternoon. Morgan said sarcastically: ‘I didn’t see it but I wish him luck with his privacy campaign – look forward to reading it in his next book.’
Morgan left Good Morning Britain in March 2021 after saying he did not believe the claims made by Meghan Markle during the explosive interview she and Harry gave to Oprah Winfrey.
The duke alleged Morgan had been intimidating him and his wife since he launched legal proceedings against the publisher of the Mirror newspaper.
Harry said in his court statement: ‘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 that 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.’
The court was also told yesterday that Morgan referred to hearing rumours about meetings between Harry’s late mother Princess Diana and entertainer Michael Barrymore in his book The Insider.
David Sherborne, Harry’s barrister, said the reason Morgan had heard this was because Mirror journalists would have heard ‘private messages’.
He also said a letter to Barrymore from Diana in June 1997, just two months before her untimely death, ‘demonstrates the impact of these activities’.
A court artist’s impression of Prince Harry being cross examined by Andrew Green KC (left) today
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle give an interview to Oprah Winfrey in March 2021
Morgan left Good Morning Britain after saying he did not believe Meghan’s claims to Oprah
Mr Sherborne said Diana wrote to Barrymore saying she had not heard from him and hoped his silence was ‘good news’, adding: ‘I have had a nightmare time with the tabloids.’
The barrister added: ‘Mr Barrymore is so frightened off that he does not contact Princess Diana and this is the isolation that this activity causes.’
The Duke said in his witness statement that he was ‘shocked, disgusted and appalled’ when he was shown three handwritten letters from Diana to Barrymore.
He said: ‘They are dated 23 March, 25 April and 2 June 1997 respectively and convey my mother’s concerns for Mr Barrymore’s well-being and kindly offering him a shoulder to cry on.’
The court heard that Diana and Barrymore had private meetings while the entertainer was ‘struggling’ due to factors including treatment for alcohol and drug addiction.
In his written evidence, Harry said that it was ‘safe to assume’ that his mother and Mr Barrymore would have been exchanging voicemails about their private meetings.
Harry said: ‘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.’
Morgan has previously denied phone hacking, saying he will not take lectures on privacy invasion from ‘somebody who has spent the last three years ruthlessly and cynically invading the Royal Family’s privacy for vast commercial gain’.
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