Prince Harry: Phone hacking trial involving Duke of Sussex begins

A trial involving the Duke of Sussex over alleged phone hacking at the publisher of the Mirror is getting under way.

Prince Harry is one of several high profile figures bringing claims against Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN) in a seven-week trial at the High Court.

Lawyers will argue that executives at the company knew about widespread phone hacking, but failed to act.

MGN is contesting the claims.

The company - which also publishes the Sunday Mirror and Sunday People - is set to argue that some of the claims have been brought too late.

A previous hearing was told Harry's case is that 148 articles published between 1996 and 2010 included information that was allegedly obtained through methods including phone hacking.

Prince Harry is expected to give evidence in June, with the High Court hearing set to last six or seven weeks.

The estate of the late singer George Michael and actor Ricky Tomlinson have also brought claims against MGN, with "test cases" - including Harry's - selected to go to trial from the wider group of claimants.

The other "representative" cases set for trial are that of former Coronation Street actress Nikki Sanderson, comedian Paul Whitehouse's ex-wife Fiona Wightman and actor Michael Turner.

MGN has previously settled a number of claims against it in relation to stories obtained through unlawful means.

It was also involved in a 2015 trial, the only to take place during the long-running litigation, which saw claims brought by ex-footballer Paul Gascoigne, actress Sadie Frost, and Coronation Street actress Shobna Gulati.

Last month, lawyers for the group said that all the witnesses on their side would give evidence in person, paving the way for Prince Harry to take the stand.

He has become an outspoken critic of the tabloid press and has already appeared in court once this year to listen to legal arguments in another case he is involved in.

Harry is party to actions linked to alleged phone hacking against two other companies - the publisher of the Daily Mail, and the publisher of the Sun, both of which deny wrongdoing.