Prince Harry denounces court decision: “We didn’t get justice”

The Duke of Sussex released a joint statement with Doreen Lawrence, who was also a plaintiff in the lawsuit. According to People magazine, the two said they went to court seeking justice and accountability, but said they got neither.

“This ruling represents a complete turnaround from the position that previous judges took in relation to the hacking complaints successfully brought against News Group Newspapers and Mirror Group Newspapers,” they said.

Harry and Doreen also criticized the fact that the court, they said, ignored previous findings about private investigators who had committed illegal activities in the same period and in similar cases.

“The fact that this court chose to reject them represents an inconsistency that is difficult to understand or reconcile with common sense, or with the evidence presented in the courtroom itself,” they said.

In the statement, the two called the decision a “complete and obvious cover-up” and said the court’s efforts to acquit the Mail were “shocking” and “unjustified.”

They also questioned the assessment that there was insufficient evidence of irregularities. For Harry and Doreen, documents presented during the trial indicated otherwise.

“When the court states that there is insufficient evidence of irregularities, despite documents indicating otherwise, it is natural to question how justice could ever be served,” they stated.

Next, they cited examples of evidence that, according to them, would support the accusations. Among them, the recording of a private investigator hired by the Mail admitting to illegally obtaining information about Baroness Lawrence and records involving sensitive medical data.

The statement also mentioned a case in which a private investigator allegedly sent a journalist the seat number on a British Airways flight and ticket details of a young woman traveling to visit her boyfriend. According to People, the reference would be to Harry's ex-girlfriend, Chelsy Davy.

“It seems there is one rule for newspapers and another for plaintiffs,” they said. “While the complainants presented evidence, the Mail journalists simply denied the facts, and the court chose to believe them without any critical spirit.”

Harry and Doreen ended their statement by thanking the legal team and witnesses who participated in the process.

"We presented the court with evidence that we considered compelling at the time and continues to be so. We would like to thank our legal team for all their hard work and all the witnesses who had the courage to speak out in pursuit of justice," they said.

Shortly after the sentence was announced, Harry was seen at Chatham House in London. Despite the legal defeat, the Duke of Sussex appeared in a good mood and even joked with the environment.

Speaking about the venue, he said: “It’s one of the few rooms in the UK that has air conditioning, so I understand why every seat is taken.”

Harry and Elton John lose lawsuit against Daily Mail

Harry was not the only perpetrator of the action. Other celebrities, including Elton John and Elizabeth Hurley, were also suing Associated Newspapers Limited for alleged breaches of privacy.

During the trial, which lasted more than two months, the authors accused the group of intercepting voice messages, listening to telephone conversations and using private detectives to obtain information used in more than 50 reports published between 1993 and 2018.

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