In a significant development at the High Court, a former director of the press reform campaign group Hacked Off has firmly denied allegations that he paid witnesses for their evidence against a major newspaper publisher. Dr Evan Harris, who previously served as a Liberal Democrat MP, gave testimony in a high-profile privacy claim brought against Associated Newspapers, the publisher of the Daily Mail and The Mail on Sunday.
Payments to Journalistic Sources, Not Witnesses
Dr Harris acknowledged that some individuals who later became witnesses in the case had received payments, but he insisted these were made strictly as journalistic sources, not for their testimony or to alter their evidence. Among those paid was convicted phone hacker Glenn Mulcaire, who received £22,329.50 as part of research into alleged misconduct at The Mail On Sunday and the Daily Mail, which the newspapers strongly deny.
During his evidence, Dr Harris clarified that he had not made any payments personally. His role, he explained, was to approach potential victims of alleged press misconduct to encourage them to pursue legal action. In his own words, his aim was to persuade them ‘to sue the arse off the Mail’.
Strategic Discussions Involving High-Profile Figures
The court was shown a revealing email sent by Dr Harris to actor Hugh Grant in March 2016. In this correspondence, Dr Harris discussed the possibility of approaching footballer and broadcaster Gary Lineker, describing him as a ‘national treasure’ who could elicit significant public sympathy. He wrote that he had ‘a potential Gary Lineker angle’, though he later characterised this remark as ‘black humour’, noting that while Lineker was a celebrity, he was at least ‘well regarded’.
Dr Harris explained that Mr Grant, a long-term supporter of Hacked Off, was keen to highlight cases of alleged press misconduct that involved ‘ordinary victims’ rather than celebrities. This strategy aimed to garner broader public support for reopening the Leveson Inquiry into press standards. High-profile legal actions against newspaper groups were seen as a key part of this approach.
Email Reveals Campaign Tactics
In the email to Hugh Grant, Dr Harris detailed his efforts to contact victims and persuade them to instruct lawyers. He mentioned having ‘Heather Mills, Simon Hughes and Sadie Frost in the frame’. Regarding Gary Lineker, whom he had met twice at Hacked Off events, Dr Harris expressed concern that the former Match of the Day presenter needed ‘more aggressive’ lawyers, describing his current legal team as ‘expensive wimps’.
However, Dr Harris testified that many potential victims, including Mr Lineker, were ultimately not contacted. Gary Lineker is not a claimant or witness in the current case against Associated Newspapers. The court heard that Mr Lineker has previously spoken publicly about personal family challenges, including his son’s serious illness as an infant.
Broader Context of the Legal Action
The March 2016 email emerged as part of evidence disclosed in a major privacy case brought by seven public figures against Associated Newspapers. The claimants include Prince Harry, Baroness Doreen Lawrence – mother of murdered teenager Stephen Lawrence – Sir Elton John and his husband David Furnish, former Liberal Democrat MP Sir Simon Hughes, and actresses Liz Hurley and Sadie Frost.
Associated Newspapers denies all allegations that its journalists commissioned unlawful information gathering, which claimants assert included phone hacking, landline tapping, and obtaining private information through deception or ‘blagging’.
Denials Regarding Witness Payments
Under cross-examination by Antony White KC, representing Associated Newspapers, Dr Harris repeatedly denied that he or fellow researcher Graham Johnson – a former journalist and convicted phone hacker – had paid witnesses for their evidence. He maintained that payments to individuals like Glenn Mulcaire and Greg Miskiw, both convicted phone hackers, were made solely for their services as journalistic sources.
The court was shown a 2015 email exchange between Dr Harris and Max Mosley, the former Formula 1 boss and Hacked Off supporter. In these communications, Mr Mosley discussed potentially offering payment to Mulcaire for information, using the phrase ‘no tickee, no monkee’ – which Dr Harris interpreted to mean ‘if you don’t produce you don’t get paid’. Mr Mosley, who died in 2021, suggested he could meet with Mulcaire and ‘try to tempt him’.
Mr White suggested that this indicated a proposal to pay Mulcaire to change his account, but Dr Harris countered that it merely referred to offering remuneration for information, not testimony. He stated unequivocally: ‘The suggestion that I or he paid for testimony is not right.’
Ongoing Legal Proceedings
The case represents one of the most significant privacy actions in recent years, examining allegations of widespread unlawful information gathering by newspaper groups. Dr Harris, who served as MP for Oxford West and Abingdon and was a director of Hacked Off at the time of the email to Hugh Grant, now works as part of a ‘research team’ for the claimants.
Baroness Lawrence’s involvement in the case began in January 2022 after she was contacted by Prince Harry, highlighting how the legal action has drawn together diverse public figures united by concerns about press conduct. The proceedings continue at the High Court, with further evidence expected to be examined in the coming days.
