Phone hacking seemed like a thing of the past up until Prince Harry's lawsuits against News Group, Mirror Group, and Associated Newspapers made headlines.
When the Guardian reported that the News of the World had recorded Millie Dowler's voicemails before she was killed, it made national headlines. The 168-year-old publication was closed by Rupert Murdoch.
The Leveson Inquiry published its recommendations in 2012 after looking into the press's values, standards, and culture.
But that happened more than ten years ago. You might have thought it was over and done with.
The subject has gained new attention thanks to Prince Harry. Perhaps only he has the notoriety, the passion, the resources, and the will to fight the tabloids.
His search is given some context in a recent BBC documentary called Scandalous: Phone Hacking on Trial. And it implies that there are still some troubling, unresolved issues for the British media.
For the first time ever, actress Sienna Miller spoke candidly and on camera about her experiences for the documentary.
In 2021, she and the Sun reached a settlement in their phone hacking lawsuit. Despite paying her a sizeable sum of money, News Group refused to accept responsibility for the alleged misconduct at the newspaper.
She declared that she wanted to go to trial but lacked "countless millions" of dollars as she stood in front of the High Court's Rolls Building, where Prince Harry has been pursuing his case against Mirror Group in recent weeks.
People who are old enough to remember the early 2000s may have a fuzzy memory of the aforementioned reports about an upcoming actress who was frequently featured in the media. The person who judged her the harshest might have thought of her as a wannabe who pursued fame by dating a well-known celebrity.
Her descriptions make us reevaluate those presumptions.
Miller tells the BBC in a moving and powerful interview that "the number of stories that were coming out was completely crazy. Furthermore, it was perplexing how many accurate stories were being reported in the media. ".
Relationship with actor Jude Law propelled her to the front pages, and when he cheated with his kids' nanny - who sold her story - it was all over the papers. Miller then learned she was expecting a child. After first appearing in a US publication, that was also reported in the UK. It horribly exposed her decision about whether or not to end the pregnancy. .
Since I was obviously pregnant, she recalled one photographer asking her, "Have you had your tits done to keep him? It was just awful.".
"I sensed that someone must be peddling stories. The five people in our lives who knew them were seated, and I violently interrogated them. I was under a great deal of pressure.
"I distinctly recall my doctor's office calling to let me know that they had sent the records I had requested. I responded, "I didn't ask for any records,". ".
The Sun paid private investigators in the amount of £250 on July 21, 2005 for "Sienna phone inquiries," as revealed by Miller's court case. for "Sienn's [sic] Miller pregnant research" on August 3, 2005, or £950.
A paralegal working on cases against News Group, Dan Waddell, tells the BBC that he thinks these are signs of phone hacking and other illegal information gathering, such as leaking private information to find out about her pregnancy.
Additionally, News Group informed the BBC that it does not agree with Miller's version of events, claiming that the evidence does not support it. It claims that while the legal action is ongoing, it can only respond in so many ways.
Miller's alleged medical records were allegedly accessed by a private investigator, who denies "blagging" the physician's office.
According to reports, News Group Newspapers, the company that owned the News of the World, has recently paid hundreds of millions of pounds in costs and damages to resolve phone hacking cases.
Most of them concern The News of the World. The Daily Sun, published by News Group, has never acknowledged engaging in phone hacking. But how do we know it didn't?
With Miller and at least five other parties, it has resolved Sun-only claims without admitting fault. Among the first were former football player Paul Gascoigne and former Liberal Democrat MP Simon Hughes. .
Neil Wallis, a former senior editor at the Sun, News of the World, as well as Sunday People, a competitor, claims that civil damage claims are "an industry.".
The major newspaper groups are, in his words, "caught between a rock and a hard place.". I'm afraid it's a no-brainer to settle that case for $100,000 rather than spend $1 million fighting it. Fighting for the truth costs more money than settling. ".
A "legal scandal," he calls it.
In the past year, News Group has also reached Sun-only settlements with jockey Kieren Fallon, two non-celebrity individuals—John Tulloch, a survivor of the London 7/7 bombings, and Patricia Bernal—again without any admission of liability. .
A man with whom Clare Bernal had a three-week relationship shot and killed Clare in 2005. The News of the World had hacked Clare's and Bernal's phones, the police informed Bernal five years after Clare was killed.
It's quite unbelievable, Bernal tells the program, that people would go to such lengths when a family is in such grief. ".
There is also a conversation with Glenn Mulcaire, a private eye who was imprisoned in 2007 for hacking phones at the News of the World.
According to Mulcaire, the interview has been "a long time coming" (BBC). Some people might consider a hacker's statements to be tainted. Mulcaire confesses to hacking for the Sun for the first time on camera.
I heard Heather Mills' voicemails for The Sun, he claims. I used a hack to give Heather Mills' friends, family, and associates access to information from voicemails she left for them, as well as the target, who in this case would be Heather Mills. ".
According to the BBC, News Group denies asking Mulcaire to hack for the Sun. It admitted Mulcaire hacked for the News of the World in 2019 and paid Mills a sizeable sum to settle her claim before a trial. .
It didn't admit to hacking for the Sun.
Since 2015, Mirror Group has settled 600 claims of phone hacking for £100 million in costs and damages, as revealed by Prince Harry's recent lawsuit against the company.
That was after a judge in a prior civil case determined that voicemail interception was common at its papers for a decade.
MGN states: "Where historical wrongdoing has occurred, we have made admissions, taken full responsibility, and extended an unreserved apology. However, we will adamantly contest any claims of wrongdoing in cases where our journalists acted lawfully.
"MGN now belongs to a completely different company. We are committed to conducting ourselves honestly, and our goal in this trial is to enable both the company and our journalists to move past the events that occurred many years ago. ".
A lawsuit against MGN was filed in 2015 by actress Shobna Gulati, who is best known for her roles in Dinnerladies and Coronation Street.
You can see how what happened to her still has an effect when you watch her interview for the new program.
She talks about how, as a single mother, she "never figured out" how the paparazzi knew where she was going to be. Due to her relationships "becoming fodder" and worries that those closest to her were fabricating stories, it caused arguments with boyfriends.
According to Gulati, she had hoped to find a partner and have a few more kids. .
"Because I missed those years, that hasn't happened. Because of how chaotic, anxious, and distrust-filled those years were, it was impossible to build relationships. I've missed those years. ".
It took a long time to convince those whose phones had been hacked to participate in the program. According to Miller, "I was so eager to have my privacy that the whole reason I'm fighting these newspapers is because of that. I feel obligated to expose them just as they have done to us. ".
It represented a dark period in media history. A lot had changed since then, including the dominance of tabloids, the disregard for some privacy rights, and the prevalence of prejudices as expressed in many newspapers. .
When Simon Hughes was revealed to be bisexual, one of the most shocking things to look out for were the headlines. "Limp Dem reveals. "Another person chews on the pillow. Terms that are no longer acceptable.
Many of the campaigners, many of whom were formerly affiliated with Hacked Off, are alleged to be attacking the tabloids through the legal system. They claim there are conflicts of interest, not the least of which is the fact that some stand to profit financially each time a case is successfully litigated in court. They note that other witnesses have been found guilty themselves.
Prior to the charges being dropped, Wallis spent four years on bail as a result of Operation Weeting, the Metropolitan Police's investigation into phone hacking. .
A "campaign against journalism" is taking place, according to him, and it could drive some British media outlets out of business.
"Just about anyone who has ever been in a tabloid newspaper is there, begging for large sums of money. ".
Others think the final judgment is still occurring. .
In a different universe, perhaps Prince Harry would have wed Chelsy Davy years ago and carried on with his royal duties.
Instead, he is taking the reins in the movement to reform the press. Additionally, it appears to be just the beginning.
At 21:00 BST on Thursday, June 15, BBC Two will air Scandal: Phone Hacking on Trial.
