Ex-Mirror editor Piers Morgan says he will not take privacy lectures from Harry

Piers Morgan has said he is “not going to take lectures on privacy invasion” from the Duke of Sussex amid allegations of phone hacking while he was editor of the Daily Mirror newspaper.

Prince Harry is one of a number of high-profile figures bringing claims against Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN) over alleged unlawful information gathering at its titles in a seven-week trial which began on Wednesday.

Journalist and broadcaster Morgan, who was editor of the Daily Mirror between 1995 and 2004, responded to a doorstepping ITV reporter who asked if he was going to “apologise” to Harry over the claims.

The 58-year-old said: “All I am going to say is I am not going to take lectures on privacy invasion from Prince Harry, somebody who has spent the last three years ruthlessly and cynically invading the royal family’s privacy for vast commercial gain and told a pack of lies about them.

“So I suggest he gets out of court and apologises to his family for the disgraceful invasion of privacy that he’s been purporting.”

He added: “I think Prince Harry should be apologising for his disgraceful invasion of privacy of the royal family and others by the way.”

In 2021, Morgan made headlines after leaving Good Morning Britain following an on-air clash with weather presenter Alex Beresford over the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s interview with Oprah Winfrey.

Morgan said he did not believe Meghan’s claims from the headline-making special, with his comments sparking more than 50,000 complaints – the most in Ofcom’s history.

The watchdog later ruled Good Morning Britain was not in breach of the broadcasting code over Morgan’s comments.