In a major court case against Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL), the publisher of the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday, Prince Harry, Sir Elton John, Baroness Doreen Lawrence, and other high-profile figures have alleged a “systematic and sustained use of unlawful information gathering” by the media company.
The Duke of Sussex claims he was left feeling “paranoid beyond belief” after the publisher allegedly tracked his “every move, thought or feeling,” creating a “massive strain” on his personal relationships and leading to “distrust and suspicion.” Harry, who has flown back to the UK from his home in California for the case, is expected to take the witness stand on Thursday.
The claimants’ lawyers allege that ANL employees listened to phone calls, obtained medical records through deception, and used private investigators to place listening devices in cars between 1993 and 2018. This allegedly included one journalist writing a draft story about actress Sadie Frost’s ectopic pregnancy that “not even her sisters or mother knew about” after allegedly accessing her medical information.
Baroness Lawrence, whose son Stephen was murdered in a racist attack in 1993, said she felt “bitterly let down” by the Daily Mail and “angry” that she had been made to fight in court for three years. “I am a victim all over again, but by people who I thought were my allies and friends,” she stated.
Sir Elton John and his husband David Furnish also claim their home and the safety of their children had been “violated” and that they are “horrified” that ANL allegedly “used their friendships against them,” including stealing their son’s birth certificate.
Despite ANL’s lawyer, Antony White KC, arguing that the claimants had “leaky social circles” and that disclosures to the press about the private lives of the Duke of Sussex were “not an uncommon occurrence,” the publisher emphatically denies all claims of unlawful practices.
The high-profile trial, which is expected to last nine weeks, continues.