A private investigator central to the legal action by the Duke of Sussex and others against the publisher of the Daily Mail has claimed that his signature on an earlier witness statement was a “forgery”, the High Court has heard.
Gavin Burrows, linked to the most serious allegations of unlawful information gathering made by seven prominent individuals including Elton John and Doreen Lawrence, retracted his alleged confession, saying it was “completely false”. Burrows had allegedly claimed in a 2021 witness statement that he and his team obtained information by hacking voicemails, tapping landline phones and bugging cars, and that he had worked on behalf of the Mail on Sunday.
Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL) is accused by the group of carrying out or commissioning unlawful activities such as hiring private investigators to place listening devices inside cars, “blagging” private records and accessing private phone conversations. ANL denies the allegations and is defending the legal action.
In a fresh 30-page witness statement made on 25 September 2025, and released by the High Court on Tuesday, Burrows restated his denial, saying he had never carried out any illegal activity on behalf of ANL. He claimed he did “not recognise” the “purported witness statement on 16 August 2021”, believed it was “prepared by others”, that the “signature is not mine”, and did “not accept the accuracy of much of the contents”.
Burrows said he was on heavy painkillers after a serious physical assault, and drinking heavily, when he was approached by former journalist Graham Johnson, who wanted help with research on phone-hacking claims against newspapers. He said he was told claims against newspapers were likely to settle out of court, as the papers did not want the publicity or cost of a court case, and were described to him as a “perfect scam” and a “gravy train”.
Antony White KC, for ANL, asked the court to allow him to cross-examine Burrows, while David Sherborne, for the group, made an application to call his evidence as hearsay. Mr Justice Nicklin gave Sherborne seven days to decide whether he wanted to apply for a witness summons to call Burrows. A further pre-trial hearing is expected before the end of the year.
