Prince Harry's lawyer told by judge to 'show me the evidence' in phone hacking case
Prince Harry's lawyer has been told by a judge to "show me the evidence" instead of simply making allegations of phone hacking.
The comment was made as the Duke of Sussex's lawyer David Sherborne gave his closing arguments in London's High Court on Wednesday.
Prince Harry is among several people suing the Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN) over claims the newspapers used illegal tactics to gain information on him, including phone hacking, over a 10-year period, allegations MGN denies.
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Prince Harry's lawyer has given closing submissions in his phone hacking trial in London. Getty
Mr Justice Fancourt, who is presiding over the case, told Sherborne to "show me the evidence, not just assertions by you" of particular examples of voicemail interception in Prince Harry's case.
He said: "Give me your best two examples of particular evidence that Prince Harry was able to give of a particular message".
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Sherborne responded by pointing to Prince Harry's 55-page witness statement, telling the court that "when he deals with the articles, he does say on a number of occasions that it was material he was talking about privately".
Prince Harry being questioned by his lawyer David Sherborne, as seen in a court sketch, on June 7. Elizabeth Cook/PA via AP
Prince Harry claims 148 articles were written based on information gained illegally, with just over 30 of those closely examined in court.
The duke gave evidence over two days in early June, becoming the first senior royal to do so in more than 130 years.
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But he was heavily criticised for failing to show specific examples of phone hacking, or voicemail interception.
On Wednesday, Sherborne said: "I had in mind the discussion between him [Prince Harry] and his brother relating to Mr Burrell, so that's one example...Then we've got 'Hooray Harry's dumped'.. These are just examples."
Prince Harry and barrister David Sherborne leave the High Court on June 7. Getty
He added: "Now obviously 20 years later, remembering a specific voicemail is not going to be possible...What all the claimants do is in their witness statement explain how the information is something that they were discussing in voicemails but not publicly."
Prince Harry had previously told the court that an article written in 2003 about their late mother's former butler, Paul Burrell, could only have come from intercepting his voicemail.
He said that a message to Prince William, in which he described Burrell as a "two-faced s—" ... "could have been lifted directly from a voicemail I had left".
On Tuesday, Andrew Green KC representing MGN said while they had "enormous sympathy" for the prince's experience of media intrusion, Harry had no evidence of phone hacking or widespread illegal activity by its newspapers.
He accused Prince Harry of bringing the legal action "as a vehicle to seek to reform the British media" as part of his ongoing crusade.
Green also suggested Prince Harry be awarded just £500 (approx. $950 AUD) in damages following the the end of his phone-hacking trial.
The Duke of Sussex is seeking more than £200,000 (approx. $381,000 AUD) over allegations that he was the victim of illegal activity by journalists.
The trial is scheduled to finish on Friday, with a judgment expected in the coming months.
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