Prince Harry has won a phone hacking court case he brought against the U.K.-based Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN), publisher of the Daily Mirror.
The British royal was awarded 140,600 pounds, the equivalent of about $180,000 in damages, according to a report from CBS News.
The presiding judge, Justice Timothy Fancourt, said in a statement that he had awarded the Duke of Sussex a “modest” amount because he determined that the defendant “only played a small part in everything that the Duke suffered” and “was not responsible for all the unlawful activity that was directed at the Duke, and that a good deal of the oppressive behavior of the Press towards the Duke over the years was not unlawful at all,” the outlet noted.
Fancourt said only 15 of the 33 articles examined in the case were the result of phone hacking. This is the first of several lawsuits Harry has brought against British tabloid newspapers, including The Sun and The Daily Mail. The royal family member also accused Daily Mirror of libel and lost that case.
This case involved the accusation of journalists using a tactic called “blagging,” which is when a reporter or private investigator illegally listens to someone’s cellphone voicemails. They’re able to gain access if they know the person’s phone number and security code.
“I consider that his phone was only hacked to a modest extent, and that this was probably carefully controlled by certain people at each newspaper,” the judge said. “There was a tendency for the Duke in his evidence to assume that everything published was the product of voicemail interception because phone hacking was rife within Mirror Group at the time. But phone hacking was not the only journalistic tool at the time, and his claims in relation to the other 18 articles did not stand up to careful analysis.”
He said the specific amount was awarded “to compensate the Duke fully for the distress that he suffered as a result of the unlawful activity directed at him and those close to him.”
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Despite the relatively small amount of damages awarded and the judge not agreeing with all 33 articles, Prince Harry said he was “happy to have won this case.”
“I respectfully call on the authorities, financial regulator, police to do their duty and investigate bringing charges against Daily Mirror Group,” the British royal said in a statement.
“I’ve been told that slaying dragons will get you burned. But in light of today’s victory and the importance of doing what is needed for a free and honest press – it’s a worthwhile price to pay. The mission continues,” he added.