Mark Thomas

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By Dominic Casciani & James Gregory , at High Court, & Sam HancockBBC

The Duke of Sussex and other celebrity claimants are a " long way off" proving Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN) unlawfully gathered Information on them, The publisher has told a court.

Prince Harry is among high-profile figures accusing MGN of various illicit practices, including phone hacking.

Andrew Green KC, representing MGN, said Evidence was " slim" in some areas and " utterly non-existent" in others.

He spoke on day three of a highly anticipated hearing at The High Court.

MGN, which publishes The Daily Mirror , Sunday Mirror and Sunday People newspapers, vehemently denies The allegations.

Opening The case for The publisher on Friday, Mr Green compared it to one in 2015 where MGN conceded that its journalists had regularly used unlawful techniques to obtain Private Information - and was.

He Said unlawful Information gathering had been admitted then because there was " direct Evidence . . from Dan Evans [a former Sunday Mirror journalist]" that it had happened.

Mr Evans " has not said he hacked any of (The claimants)" This Time around, Mr Green added.

" The Evidence in this case is slim in relation to one of The claimants and utterly non-existent for The Other three, " he told The Court , arguing their allegations had been made with " no basis" and " a sense of outrage".

Mr Green also took aim at The newspaper articles submitted as Evidence of illicit newsgathering, saying they offered a " breathtaking level of triviality".

Some 207 stories, published between 1991 and 2011, Make Up The bulk of The case's Evidence . More Than 60% of them are about Harry, Duke of Sussex.

As well as voicemail interception, Harry and The Other claimants have accused MGN of using private investigators to illegally gather details about them in order to write stories.

David Sherborne, representing The claimants, said on Friday that MGN's legal department knew " from even The Most basic investigation" that unlawful practices were taking place by journalists.

He also accused The Company of a " Cover Up " claiming board meetings took place to discuss The publisher's liability, but " despite that, there is not a single note from any such meeting".

In response, Mr Green accused claimants of " smearing" senior MGN figures by accusing The board of lying to Cover Up any hacking, and said there had been " extreme allegations of dishonesty".

Harry is among four people whose claims are being heard in The Trial , expected to last up to Seven Weeks , as " representative" cases of The types of allegations facing The publisher. They will also help The Court set The Level of damages MGN should pay if The claimants win.

Others involved are Coronation Street actors Nikki Sanderson and Michael Turner , known by his stage name Michael Le Vell, and comedian Paul Whitehouse 's ex-wife Fiona Wightman.

The publisher's lawyers said that Ms Sanderson and Ms Wightman have run out of time to sue for damages, because these types of claims should be brought within Six Years of The alleged victim knowing What Happened .

The lawyers said phone hacking has been talked about for at least 20 years, with The Mirror Group publicly apologising for its part in The Scandal in 2014.

Therefore, any potential victims should have known long ago to get a case started, MGN's lawyers argued.

But The claimants said that MGN did such a good job in covering up wrongdoing for so long, that reasonable people simply could not have known or suspected The Truth .

Depending on The outcome of this case, The Court could then consider cases from a range of celebrities including former Girls Aloud singer Cheryl and former Arsenal and England footballer Ian Wright .

During Thursday's hearing, The claimant's lawyer told The Court that one of The of The case was The extent to which " widespread, habitual and unlawful" activities were " authorised at The highest level" of MGN.

This included " The systemic and widespread use of PIs (private investigators) by MGN journalists to unlawfully obtain Private Information " of various individuals, Mr Sherborne said.

He referred The Court to key senior MGN figures who he claimed " authorised" The unlawful obtaining of Information .

He Said this included former editors Piers Morgan , Neil Wallis , Tina Weaver , Mark Thomas , Richard Wallace and Bridget Rowe , and alleged that managing editors and senior executives also knew.

" Mr Morgan was right at The Heart of this in many ways, " Mr Sherborne told The Court .

" He was a hands-on editor and was close to The board. We have The direct involvement of Mr Morgan in A Number of these incidents. "

Mr Morgan, who edited The Mirror from 1995 until 2004, has any knowledge of unlawful Information gathering happening under his watch - in particular phone hacking.

Approached by an Itv News camera crew on Wednesday - The Day The Trial began - Mr Morgan was asked if he would apologise to Harry over The claims being made In Court .

The former Good Morning Britain host was filmed saying he would not " 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".

The Trial will continue on Monday.

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Source of news: bbc.com