In a high-profile legal battle at the Royal Courts of Justice, British actress Elizabeth Hurley and several members of the Royal Family have accused Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL), the publisher of the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday, of “clear, systematic and sustained use of unlawful information gathering” for stories over a 20-year period.
Hurley, who is one of seven high-profile claimants in the case, has stated in a witness statement that she felt “crushed” over the “brutal invasion of privacy” by the publisher. She alleges that the Mail tapped her landline and placed “surreptitious mics on my home window” in an effort to obtain stories. Hurley also claims the Mail stole her medical information while she was pregnant with her son Damian, whom she refers to as the “centre of my world”.
Prince Harry, another claimant, was visibly emotional as he gave evidence on Wednesday, stating that the publisher’s actions had made the life of his wife, the Duchess of Sussex, “an absolute misery”. The prince’s voice broke as he said the court battle had been a “horrible experience” for his family and that all he wanted was “an apology and some accountability”.
Joining Hurley and Prince Harry in the lawsuit are fellow actress Sadie Frost, Sir Elton John and his husband David Furnish, Sir Simon Hughes (the former Liberal Democrat MP), and Baroness Doreen Lawrence, a campaigner whose son Stephen Lawrence was murdered in a racist attack in south London in 1993.
The claimants have accused ANL of using private investigators and “blagging” to unlawfully gather information for stories between 1993 and “beyond” 2018. However, the publisher has denied the allegations of unlawful information gathering.
Antony White KC, representing ANL, has argued that the claimants are “clutching at straws” and that the claims had been brought too late. He has suggested that in some cases, celebrities’ friends and social circles contributed as sources to Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday journalists, providing a “compelling account of a pattern of legitimate sourcing of articles”.
The case is expected to last nine weeks, and the judge, Mr Justice Nicklin, will decide the outcome without a jury.
This is the third major court battle for Prince Harry, who has previously won claims against Mirror Group Newspapers and the publisher of The Sun over unlawful information gathering.
