Thread by @Seraa

🧵Day 1 of #PrinceHarryVsMGN

1st hand account from the afternoon session in court today.

The barrister for the claimants broke down the practices at the Mirror group of papers.

#PhoneHacking #ToxicBritishMedia #PrinceHarry #ToxicBritishPress

This part was important & difficult to understand. During research for a case involving Sadie Frost a number came up. It led to the discovery of an ‘Orange Platform’. Disclosure was 1st resisted by Mirror group. They said it wouldn’t show anything.

Disclosure revealed that 13,000 calls had been made between 2002 & 2008 via the ‘Orange Platform’. Hacker calls were untraceable as incoming calls & some hackers used burner phones.

31,000 payment records were disclosed & are known about. The ‘known universe’. There are bound to be multiple this figure. Little pre 1997 in way of payment records. The payment records have instructions.
Some journalists hacked phones themselves.

Private investigators were put into groups.
1 - Hackers & blaggers
• voicemail interception
• listened to calls
• placed tracking devices
• got credit card bills
• got restaurant bookings

2 - Private Investigators
• provided info to get pins & break security
• got voter info

3 - Private Investigators
• like Glenn Mulcaire

4 - Freelance photographers
• would hack to know where to be for photos

5 - Bin spinning
• they dug in bins, happened to Elton John

Much evidence showed Tina Weaver (Sunday Mirror Editor from 2001) knew about phone hacking. She told one person to rebuild the database of hackable phones former editor Mark Thomas had taken. She was there when someone was shown how to hack using AlanYentob as he never answers.

There was evidence of Mark Thomas giving freelance photographers telephone numbers.

The was evidence of James Scott former Editor of the Sunday People emailing freelance photographers numbers.

This went all the way to the top. It was prolific & widespread.

Some of the names mentioned, in court some who’ve bought cases already include:

Some settled cases before palm pilot & other evidence on devices was known about. Evidence that was withheld from the Leverson Inquiry.

Makes you think about those tabloid headlines.
#PhoneHacking