In a high-profile court case, Prince Harry and other prominent figures, including Sir Elton John and Liz Hurley, have accused Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL), the publisher of the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday, of “grave breaches of privacy” over a 20-year period.
The claimants, who also include actor Sadie Frost, former Liberal Democrat MP Sir Simon Hughes, and Baroness Doreen Lawrence, allege that the publisher engaged in “clear, systematic and sustained use of unlawful information gathering” for stories between 1993 and 2018. This includes the alleged use of private investigators and “blagging” (impersonation to obtain information).
In their opening statement, the claimants accused a string of senior Mail and Mail on Sunday journalists of being “engaged in or complicit in the culture of unlawful information gathering that wrecked the lives of so many.”
Defending the publisher, Antony White KC argued that the reporters behind the stories had provided a “compelling account of a pattern of legitimate sourcing of articles.” He claimed the celebrities had “leaky” social circles and that a “pattern of misconduct… is simply not made out.”
However, the claimants maintain that the publisher’s actions left Prince Harry “paranoid beyond belief.” The duke, who is present for the second day of the trial, is no stranger to legal battles with the press, having previously won claims against Mirror Group Newspapers and the publisher of The Sun.
The trial, which is expected to last nine weeks, will be decided by a judge without a jury. ANL has denied all wrongdoing and argued that the claims were brought too late, but the claimants successfully argued that new evidence had come to light.
This high-stakes case sheds light on the ongoing tensions between the royal family and the British media, as well as the broader issue of privacy and the use of unlawful information gathering tactics by news organisations.
