Piers Morgan - Not Waving But Drowning

And so it came to pass that the host of TalkTV’s flagship offering The All-New Percy Moron Show emerged from his Bijou Petite Maison in west London to address representatives of the world’s media. The subject on offer was his response to his former employers losing a case brought by the Duke of Sussex, and where the Judge had concluded Haz had his phone hacked.

And what's more, Ron ...

Such was the blatant deflection and whataboutery on offer that Morgan’s post of his oration on Twitter, X, or whatever Muskrat is calling it this week, ended up being Community Noted by one kind soul who had seen through the fog of misinformation. Given that his side lost, and two more of his sides were now in the firing line, it might have been better for him to have said nothing at all.

As the BBC has told, “Piers Morgan has said he has ‘never hacked a phone or told anyone else to’, after a judge ruled he knew about the practice - and was involved - while editor of the Daily Mirror between 1995 and 2004”. But no-one made that claim during the trial. What author Omid Scobie recalled was that Morgan was told a story had been stood up by hacking.

Those acting for Reach, the company which now owns the Mirror titles, did not contest Scobie’s evidence, perhaps because it was supported by a contemporaneous invoice from a PI which matches his recollection. And while Morgan accused Scobie of being a “deluded fantasist”, his problem is that the person to whom he dished out the abuse was believed by the Judge.

So what we had was Morgan maybe not ordering the hack, or doing it himself, but knowing it was going on - at the paper he edited. This contradicts the evidence he gave to the Leveson Inquiry. He might also wish to reflect on the Judge in the Haz case describing Scobie as “a straightforward and reliable witness”, while Leveson LJ called Morgan’s testimony “unconvincing”.

He could also reflect on Professor Brian Cathcart’s observation: “A very important court victory today for #PrinceHarry against the Mirror papers. But at least as important is the finding that three top execs of the time - Sly Bailey, Paul Vickers and Marcus Partington - all knew phone hacking was going on. That's not what they said [to Leveson]”. That sounds like perjury. Oh dear!

Moreover, if top executives from one newspaper group knew hacking was going on, it may be that top executives at other newspaper groups knew hacking was going on too. Two media organisations with which Morgan has been associated, and is now associated, will provide an excellent opportunity to test this theory. Because Haz now has them in his sights.

Those two organisations are Associated Newspapers, where Morgan was an “editor at large” for Mail Online, and whose legendarily foul mouthed editor in chief Paul Dacre told the Leveson Inquiry that his paper did not do hacking - becoming most indignant when actor and campaigner Hugh Grant said it did - and the mafia mob now called News UK. For whom Morgan now works.

It matters not a jot how much hot air Morgan expends on trying to discredit Haz and Scobie, and indeed anyone else he chooses to attack, in the meantime. As the Duke of Sussex put it in his statement read out yesterday, “the mission continues”. If he’s got a beef with Haz, he could always sue.

As Peter Jukes of Byline Times put it, “Morgan going down the 'Harry invaded his own privacy' canard. Well, that's NOT what the High Court said - and unlike the papers Morgan edited, Harry did not need to hack his phones, steal confidential medical and financial records. Stupid comparison”. The misinformation ain’t making it. Plus, a thought for The Great Man to consider.

The BBC noted that Reach “has already paid out around £100m in damages and legal costs over phone hacking”. The Murdoch mafiosi has shelled out around a cool billion. Yesterday’s judgment confirms that some of the £100 million from Reach was down to Morgan’s editorship of the Daily Mirror. He should be grateful that he gets to keep his millions, with no worry that one or other of his former employers will be asking him to chip in.

For you, Piers Morgan, the war is over. Back in your box and quit moaning.

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