The High Court heard yesterday that Prince Harry allegedly 'turned' Doreen Lawrence against the Daily Mail, the newspaper that had led a 25-year campaign for justice following the murder of her son Stephen. Journalist Stephen Wright, the former crime editor at the Daily Mail, testified that an intervention by the Duke of Sussex had 'changed everything' in his professional relationship with Baroness Lawrence.
Background of the Case
Baroness Lawrence, a Labour peer, and Prince Harry are among seven public figures who have brought a privacy case against the Daily Mail and The Mail on Sunday. The claimants allege that the newspapers gathered information about them unlawfully, including through hacking voicemails, intercepting landline calls, and using private detectives to obtain private data. Associated Newspapers, which publishes both titles, denies all claims of unlawful activities by its journalists.
Key Testimony from Stephen Wright
During his evidence, Mr Wright described how he had built a professional relationship with Baroness Lawrence over many years following her son's murder in 1993. The Daily Mail ran a decades-long campaign to bring Stephen's killers to justice, and Mr Wright arranged multiple interviews with Baroness Lawrence during that period.
He revealed that in 2022, Prince Harry contacted Baroness Lawrence to alert her to information 'that she would want to know about'. Shortly after this intervention, Baroness Lawrence joined the claim against Associated Newspapers, alleging she was 'extensively targeted' by private investigators who put her under surveillance and bugged her phone.
Event Before the Intervention
Mr Wright noted that just six months before Harry's call, he hosted an event with Baroness Lawrence and other figures affected by police failures, including:
- Lord Brittan's widow
- Relatives of Lord Bramall
- DJ Paul Gambaccini
- Former Tory MP Harvey Proctor
- Sir Edward Heath's former private secretary
He stated that the event occurred 'six months before Prince Harry rang Baroness Lawrence and turned her against the Daily Mail, very sadly', adding that it 'changed everything' in their relationship.
Defence and Allegations
Under cross-examination by David Sherborne, representing the claimants, Mr Wright repeatedly denied allegations that he had paid a former police officer to hand money to corrupt serving officers. He asserted that he relied on an extensive network of legitimate sources throughout his 40-year award-winning career.
Mr Wright also accused the claimants' legal team and their researchers of attempting to 'destroy me and my reputation'. The trial is ongoing, with further proceedings expected to shed more light on these complex privacy allegations.
