Former Daily Mail editor Paul Dacre is set to be called as a witness in the legal action brought by Prince Harry and six other prominent figures against Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL), the High Court has heard. Dacre, 77, now editor-in-chief of ANL’s DMG Media company, along with former Mail on Sunday editor Peter Wright, are expected to be early defence witnesses in the trial scheduled to begin on 19 January.
Antony White KC, representing ANL, told the judge it was “critically important” that Dacre and Wright “go out over the top first” to address allegations before the rest of the defence team presents their case. David Sherborne, for the claimants, noted that ANL wished to call Dacre first regarding evidence he gave to the Leveson inquiry into press standards.
The claimants—Prince Harry, Sir Elton John, David Furnish, Liz Hurley, Sadie Frost, campaigner Doreen Lawrence, and former politician Sir Simon Hughes—allege ANL engaged in unlawful activities including hiring private investigators to place listening devices, “blagging” private records, and accessing private phone conversations. ANL vehemently denies these allegations.
Justice Nicklin warned lawyers for the claimants that he would not allow the case “to descend into a wide-ranging public inquiry” or permit “a series of rabbits produced out of a hat” to ambush witnesses. He granted the claimants’ legal team restricted use of records kept by private investigator Stephen Whittamore, which ANL had retained after the Leveson inquiry. Sherborne argued the inability to use the books was “wholly unjust” and created a “totally unlevel playing field”.
The court previously heard that private investigator Gavin Burrows withdrew a statement in which he allegedly claimed to have targeted “hundreds, possibly thousands of people” through voicemail hacking and other methods for a Mail on Sunday journalist. Burrows claimed his signature was a “forgery”, a dismissal Sherborne called “scurrilous” and a “grotesque inclusion”. The trial, with estimated legal costs of £38 million, is expected to last nine weeks.
