Piers Morgan hits back at Prince Harry verdict: ‘Wouldn’t know truth if it slapped him in his California-tanned face’

Piers Morgan has unleashed a no-holds-barred statement in response to the High Court’s ruling that Prince Harry was the victim of phone hacking by Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN).

Mr Justice Fancourt ruled in favour of the royal in 15 of the 33 articles that Harry claimed were the “product of phone hacking… or the product of other unlawful information gathering”

The High Court judge also accepted evidence that Morgan knew journalists were involved in phone hacking during his tenure as editor of the Daily Mirror.

Mr Morgan has previously denied any involvement in phone hacking.

The Duke of Sussex has been awarded £140,600 as part of the judge’s ruling.

Speaking to the press outside his London home, Morgan said: “A judge in the High Court in London has ruled on various cases including Prince Harry’s claim againt Mirror Group Newspapers where I was an editor until 2004.

“The judgement finds that there is just one article relating to the prince published by the Daily Mirror during my entire tenure as editor and this may have involved some unlawful information gathering

“To be clear, I had then and still have now zero knowledge of how that particular story was gathered.

“All his other claims against the Daily Mirror under my leadership were rejected.

“In regards to the judge’s other references to me in his judgment, I also want to reiterate as I’ve consistently said for many years now, I’ve never hacked a phone or told anybody else to hack a phone.

“Nobody has produced any actual evidence to prove that I did.

“I wasn’t called as a witness – it’s important for people to know this, by either side in the case, nor was I asked to provide any statement. I would’ve very happily agreed to do both or either of those things had I been asked.”

Morgan went on to say he hadn’t communicated with the Mirror Group’s lawyers during the process.

The former Good Morning Britain star went on to claim he wasn’t able to respond to any of the “false allegations” that were “spewed” in court by “old foes… with an axe to grind”.

“Most of which were inexplicably not even challenged in my absence by Mirror Group counsel,” he continued.

“But I note the judge appears to have believed the evidence of Omid Scobie, who lied about me in his new book and he lied about me in court – and the whole world now knows him to be a deluded fantasist.

“And he believed the evidence of Alastair Campbell, another proved liar who spun this country into an illegal war.”

Wrapping up his statement, Morgan turned his attention to the Prince.

“Finally I want to say this,” he said. “Prince Harry’s outrage at media intrusion into the private lives of the Royal Family is only matched by his own ruthless, greedy and hypocritical enthusiasm to do it himself.

“He talked today about the appalling behaviour of the press, but this is a guy who’s repeatedly trashed his family in public for hundreds of millions of dollars, even as two of its most senior and respected members were dying – his grandparents.

“It’s hard to imagine, frankly, more appalling behaviour than that.

“As for him saying this is a good day for truth, the Duke has been repeatedly exposed in recent years as someone who wouldn’t know the truth if it slapped him around his California-tanned face.

“He demands accountability for the press but refuses to accept any for himself for smearing the Royal Family, his own family, as a bunch of callous racists without producing a shred of proof to support those disgraceful claims.

“He also says he’s on a mission to reform the media when it’s become clear his real mission, along with his wife, is to destroy the British monarchy.
“And I will continue to do whatever I can to stop them.”

In a statement of his own, the Duke of Sussex also took a personal aim at Morgan following the verdict.