Prince Harry and six other high-profile figures have accused the publisher of the Daily Mail of engaging in a 'clear, systematic and sustained use of unlawful information gathering' to obtain stories about them. The Duke of Sussex appeared at the High Court in London for the start of the case against Associated Newspapers Ltd, which also publishes the Mail on Sunday.
In a witness statement, Prince Harry described the intrusion as 'terrifying' for his loved ones, creating a 'massive strain' on his personal relationships. He said it had driven him 'paranoid beyond belief' and isolated him. The group of claimants also includes Doreen Lawrence, Sir Elton John and his husband David Furnish, actors Elizabeth Hurley and Sadie Frost, and former Liberal Democrat MP Simon Hughes.
The claimants' legal team, led by barrister David Sherborne, alleged that unlawful acts included using private investigators to intercept voicemail messages, listening in to live landline calls, and obtaining private information such as itemised phone bills or medical records by deception, known as 'blagging'. Sherborne told the court that the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday had 'skeletons in their closet' over the use of such methods, which he said involved journalists from every significant editorial desk over two decades.
Sherborne claimed there was 'indisputable evidence' that journalists and senior executives were commissioning and approving the acquisition and use of unlawfully obtained information. He rejected Associated Newspapers' previous denials of wrongdoing, including during the Leveson inquiry, describing them as untrue. The newspaper group has denied the allegations, calling them 'lurid' and 'preposterous'.
The claimants allege that the activities took place between 1993 and 2011, and in some cases continued until 2018. They will refer to 14 individuals who acted as private investigators. However, Sherborne complained that a 'mass destruction' of emails before 2004 had occurred, which Associated Newspapers attributed to a company email deletion policy. The trial is expected to last several weeks.
