Prince Harry – latest news: Duke arrives in court for privacy dispute against the Mail
The Duke of Sussex has returned to the High Court for the second day of a hearing over multiple privacy claims brought against the Daily Mail publishers.
Sir Elton John and actor Sadie Frost were among those in court alongside Prince Harry on the first day of their High Court challenge over Associated Newspapers Ltd’s (ANL) allegedly unlawful activity at its titles.
The allegations - which are denied - include the hiring of private investigators to place listening devices inside cars and the accessing and recording of private phone conversations.
The court heard on Monday that Prince Harry had lost or “cut off” friends as “everyone became a ‘suspect’ since he was misled by the way that the articles were written into believing that those close to him were the source” of articles about him.
The lawyer for the group, also including actor Liz Hurley and Baroness Doreen Lawrence, told the judge that Sir Elton‘s landline had been tapped.
The publisher has previously described the group’s allegations as “preposterous smears.”
Key Points
Harry returns to High Court for day two of hearing
Prince Harry lost friends due to ‘paranoia’ over ‘unlawful’ stories, court told
Sir Elton John in court as judge told publisher saw copy of child’s birth certificate before him
Doreen Lawrence’s bank accounts were monitored and landline hacked, court hears
Publisher brands allegations ‘preposterous smears’
Judge grants anonymity for Daily Mail journalists involved in alleged phone-tapping
Harry returns to High Court for day two of hearing
10:23 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
The Duke of Sussex has returned to the Royal Courts of Justice for the second day of a High Court hearing over multiple privacy claims brought against the publisher of the Daily Mail.
Harry arrived at the central London court just after 10am for the second day of a preliminary hearing in his claim against Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL).
The duke is part of a group - along with Baroness Doreen Lawrence, Sir Elton John and David Furnish, former Liberal Democrat MP Sir Simon Hughes and actresses Sadie Frost and Liz Hurley - bringing claims over allegations ANL carried out or commissioned illegal or unlawful information-gathering.
The allegations - which are denied - include the hiring of private investigators to place listening devices inside cars and the accessing and recording of private phone conversations.
Lawyers for ANL, which is also the publisher of The Mail on Sunday and MailOnline, said the allegations are “firmly” denied and that the “stale” claims have been brought too late as it made a bid to throw out the cases.
Day two of preliminary hearing against Daily Mail publisher begins
10:32 , Thomas Kingsley
Day two of the four-day preliminary hearing has begun in the High Court. Prince Harry is in attendance again as the judge decides whether the claim will go to trial.
Recap of yesterday’s hearing
09:29 , Thomas Kingsley
Phone-tapping allegations against Associated Newspapers is set to begin its second day at the High Court after Prince Harry made a surprise visit to the hearing in London on Monday.
Here is recap of yesterday’s hearing:
The Duke of Sussex claims he was “largely deprived” of important parts of his teenage years due to the unlawful actions of the Daily Mail's publisher
ANL’s lawyers have said the claims brought by seven high-profile individuals including the Duke of Sussex and Baroness Lawrence should be dismissed without a trial
Sadie Frost and Sir Elton John appeared in court alongside Prince Harry
Prince Harry is not expected to meet with the King or the Prince of Wales while he is in the UK
Baroness Doreen Lawrence feels a “deep sense of betrayal” over Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL) allegedly hiring private investigators to “unlawfully or illegally” obtain her private information, her lawyers said
The judge overseeing the dispute has made an order temporarily preventing the reporting of the names of journalists linked to allegations against the publisher
ICYMI: Prince Harry arrives at High Court for phone-tapping and privacy case
08:52 , Thomas Kingsley
Sir Elton ‘outraged’ and ‘mortified’ over newspaper phone tapping allegations
07:56 , Peony Hirwani
Sir Elton John and David Furnish are “outraged” and “mortified” over allegations of unlawful information gathering by the publisher of the Daily Mail – including tapping their home landline – the High Court has been told.
John and Furnish appeared at the Royal Courts of Justice in London on Monday (27 March) for the start of a four-day hearing over privacy claims brought by the couple against Associated Newspapers Limited.
Along with Prince Harry, Baroness Doreen Lawrence of Clarendon, Sadie Frost, Liz Hurley and former Lib Dem MP Sir Simon Hughes, the couple are bringing claims over allegations it carried out or commissioned illegal or unlawful information-gathering – including the accessing and recording of private phone conversations.
Read more:
Sir Elton ‘outraged’ and ‘mortified’ over newspaper phone tapping allegations
What is the legal action being brought against Daily Mail publisher?
07:05 , Andy Gregory
My colleague Thomas Kingsley has this overview of the legal action launched by the high-profile group back in October:
Group including Prince Harry launch legal action against Daily Mail publishers
Prince Harry not expected to see his family as he makes surprise return to UK
06:30 , Peony Hirwani
The Duke of Sussex has made a surprise return to the UK for the first time since the late Queen’s funeral – but is not expected to meet with the King or the Prince of Wales.
His trip – for a High Court hearing in London in his claim against Daily Mail publisher Associated Newspapers over allegations of unlawful information-gathering – will be seen as demonstrating the strength of his determination over the legal action.
Maryam Zakir-Hussain reports.
Prince Harry not expected to see Charles or William as he makes surprise return to UK
Doreen Lawrence says son’s murder was ‘exploited’ by publisher, court told
06:02 , Tom Pilgrim
The mother of Stephen Lawrence says his racist murder was “exploited” by the publisher of the Daily Mail to “generate ‘exclusive’ headlines, sell newspapers and to profit”, the High Court was told at Monday’s preliminary hearing.
Baroness Doreen Lawrence feels a “deep sense of betrayal” over Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL) allegedly hiring private investigators to “unlawfully or illegally” obtain her private information, her lawyers said.
She now wonders whether trusting the Daily Mail over its “entirely false” support for her fight for justice “caused her to have failed her murdered son”, the court was told.
In her High Court breach of privacy claim against ANL, brought alongside other high-profile individuals, she claims there was “illegal interception” of her voicemail messages and that her phone was tapped between 1993 and 2007.
She also alleges her bank accounts and phone bills were monitored, that she was subject to “covert electronic surveillance” and that “corrupt payments” were made to serving police officers for confidential information, including to those investigating her son’s killing.
ANL says it firmly denies that unlawful information gathering took place at its newspapers, and the legal claims against it are being brought too late.
Watch: Harry and Meghan annoy 'some Americans’, Ron DeSantis claims
05:06 , Andy Gregory
Oprah Winfrey shares advice for Harry and Meghan ahead of coronation
04:03 , Amber Raiken
Oprah Winfrey has shared her thoughts about Prince Harry and Meghan Markle and whether they should attend King Charles III’s coronation in May.
The talk show host, who has been close friends with the royal couple, briefly discussed the coronation with friend Gayle King on CBS Mornings, to promote her 100th selection for her book club, Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano.
During the conversation, King addressed recent reports about the Duke and Duchess of Sussex being invited to the big event, before asking Winfrey for her opinion on it. “Do you think they should go? Do you think they should not go? Is it something you’d like to comment on?”
In response, Winfrey, who conducted a bombshell interview about the royal family with Harry and Meghan in 2021, gave her advice to and showed her support for the pair. “I think they should do what they feel is best for them and their family,” she explained. “That’s what I think. That’s what the bottom line comes down to. What do you feel like is the right thing for you?”
Oprah Winfrey shares advice for Harry and Meghan ahead of coronation
Conservative group demands to know if Prince Harry admitted drug use on US visa application
03:01 , Abe Asher
A conservative think tank is calling for Prince Harry’s US visa application to be released so Americans can see whether or not he admitted to his past drug use before moving to California in the summer of 2020.
The Heritage Foundation, one of the country’s preeminent right-wing think tanks, is arguing that US officials should release the details of the prince’s application so Americans can see whether or not he was “properly vetted” before being allowed to enter the country. Applicants for US visas are typically asked about their criminal history and drug use.
Conservative group wants to know if Harry admitted drugs for US visa
Tom Peck | It’s clear Prince Harry will heap as much pressure as he can on Associated Newspapers
01:56 , Andy Gregory
In his most recent column, our sketch writer Tom Peck suggests it is “permissible to wonder quite what [Prince Harry] is trying to achieve with this morning’s flurry of excitement”. He writes:
It’s not uncommon for people to turn up to court for appearances’ sake. Over the course of five and a half days last year, Wayne Rooney spent almost 28 full hours silently and motionlessly staring at an oak panel two yards in front of his nose in a show of solidarity with his wife, Coleen, while she was being extremely unsuccessfully sued by Rebekah Vardy (Jamie Vardy managed four hours himself).
Once the court rises, who is and isn’t there watching doesn’t matter in the slightest. But the act of being there, of being photographed, does. Vardy and Rooney were not really fighting each other for money in court; they were fighting, especially in Vardy’s case, to rehabilitate their reputation outside it.
The arrival shots each morning were every bit as important as the (quite often rather dry) courtroom drama. Prince Harry’s legal action against Associated Newspapers is meant to go to trial in May, and it’s very clear he’s going to be leaning into it very hard indeed, whipping up as much publicity, and therefore heaping up as much pressure, as he possibly can.
Prince Harry has begun his ‘life’s work’, apparently | Tom Peck
Watch: Prince Harry arrives at High Court for phone-tapping and privacy case
01:52 , Andy Gregory
Harry and Meghan Frogmore eviction ‘just the start’ of King Charles’ plans to slim down monarchy
Tuesday 28 March 2023 00:44 , Kate Ng
King Charles III has put into motion his plan to slim down the monarchy, with the eviction of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex from Frogmore Cottage signalling “just the start”, it has been reported.
The monarch, who is set to be crowned alongside Queen Consort Camilla in just six weeks, reportedly wishes to end subsidised rents for members of the royal family over the next five years.
The expectation for royals to fund their own homes apparently also extends to working royals, including the Prince and Princess of Wales, the Princess Royal, and the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh.
One source was quoted as saying that the King “is not some sort of housing association for distant relatives”.
Friends close to Prince Andrew rubbish reports he is planning to write memoir
Monday 27 March 2023 23:32 , Andy Gregory
Friends close to Prince Andrew have hit out at reports that he is planning to write a memoir, reports my colleague Joe Middleton.
On Sunday, a number of newspapers claimed that the Duke of York was in talks to produce a tell-all autobiography, following the success of Prince Harry’s book Spare.
However, friends of his family have taken the unusual step to make his views known following the reports.
“He has one aim and that is family unity around his brother the King,” they said. “He is rock solid with him and will do everything he can to support him quietly and if necessary publicly. The idea that he is even considering writing or cooperating with a book least of all with a journalist is for the birds.”
“He is increasingly at the mercy of people writing stuff about him and his life which is pure fantasy,” the friend continued. “He leads a very quiet isolated life and sees almost nobody, least of all journalists.”
Friends close to Prince Andrew rubbish claims he is planning to write memoir
Publisher paid 10 private investigators to unlawfully gather information against Doreen Lawrence, court told
Monday 27 March 2023 22:25 , Andy Gregory
Associated Newspapers paid 10 different private investigators to conduct “illegal or unlawful information-gathering activities” against Baroness Doreen Lawrence, the High Court was told today.
In written arguments, David Sherborne, acting for the group of high-profile individuals also including Sir Elton John and Sadie Frost, said the newspaper group “widely and habitually carried out or commissioned” the activities and covered them up.
He claimed the investigators intercepted voicemails, tapped telephones, used deception and the “burglaries or the breaking and entering of private property in order to obtain private information” on the publisher’s behalf.
The court also heard that ANL paid “substantial amounts” for the services and that the amounts were “known to and approved by executives”.
Mr Sherborne added: “The claimant will contend that the use of these unlawful acts was both habitual and widespread across Associated’s newspapers during the period at least 1993 onwards to 2011, and even continued beyond until 2018.”
Artist to project sculpture filled with Afghan blood on St Paul’s in protest over Harry’s Taliban kills claim
Monday 27 March 2023 21:17 , Andy Gregory
An artist says he plans on projecting a sculpture made using Afghan blood onto St Paul’s Cathedral, to protest Prince Harry’s claims about the number of soldiers he killed while serving in the military, my colleague Kate Plummer reports.
Russian artist Andrei Molodkin said he will take blood donated by Afghans for the sculpture and project it onto the London landmark later this week, saying the royal’s comments had made him “very, very angry”.
The Duke of Sussex attracted criticism after he detailed his time serving in Afghanistan in his memoir Spare earlier this year, claiming he killed 25 Taliban fighters during two tours in the country.
Artist makes sculpture filled with Afghan blood in protest over Harry’s kills claim
Tom Peck | Prince Harry has begun his ‘life’s work’, apparently
Monday 27 March 2023 20:13 , Andy Gregory
In his latest column, our political sketch writer Tom Peck states:
“The very best satire has a remarkable knack for changing absolutely nothing. Harry and Meghan were made to look so perfectly absurd by South Park’s “Worldwide Privacy Tour” episode that the California-based campaigners have evidently concluded that they have been left with little choice but to carry on precisely as normal.
“The Worldwide Privacy Tour made an unexpected stop in London on Monday morning, when Prince Harry arrived at the High Court to attend a preliminary hearing in one of his many legal actions against an extremely large section of the British newspaper industry.
“He didn’t need to be there. He wasn’t required to participate in any way in the hearing. But the act of taking everyone by surprise by actually turning up is certainly the prince’s first big shot in what he told Tom Bradby was going to be his “life’s work” from now on: that of holding the press to account.”
Prince Harry has begun his ‘life’s work’, apparently | Tom Peck
Harry ‘deprived of important aspects of his teenage years’ by publisher, claim lawyers
Monday 27 March 2023 19:11 , Andy Gregory
Prince Harry’s lawyers claim in court documents that he was “deprived of important aspects of his teenage years” by the “unlawful actions” of Associated Newspapers and was left full of “suspicion and paranoia” following the publication of articles containing information the duke says was only known to his trusted circle.
In the “Particulars of Claim” which set out the duke’s case, his lawyers say their client, the claimant in the legal proceedings “is shocked and appalled that Associated used their journalistic power and privilege to commit the unlawful acts without any legitimate justification and solely to compete with other tabloid newspapers for profit.
“The claimant is horrified that Associated has to date successfully avoided proper scrutiny for its conduct through its cover-up and that it has behaved as if it is above the law. The claimant is troubled that, through Associated’s unlawful acts, he was largely deprived of important aspects of his teenage years.
“In particular, suspicion and paranoia was caused by Associated’s publication of the unlawful articles: friends were lost or cut off as a result and everyone became a ‘suspect’, since he was misled by the way that the articles were written into believing that those close to him were the source of this information being provided to Associated’s newspapers.”
The document added: “Moreover, the claimant regards Associated’s unlawful acts to amount to a major betrayal given promises made by the media to improve its conduct following the tragic and untimely death of his mother, Princess Diana, in 1997.”
Monday 27 March 2023 18:14 , Andy Gregory
Prince Harry waved and gave a thumbs up to reporters as he left the High Court by a side entrance, flanked by security, after attending the first day of the hearing in his claim against Daily Mail publisher Associated Newspapers.
Liz Hurley ‘sickened’ after ‘unlawful’ intrusion, says barrister
Monday 27 March 2023 17:31 , Andy Gregory
A private investigator acting on behalf of ANL hacked actor Liz Hurley’s phone, placed a “sticky window mini-microphone” outside her home and bugged ex-boyfriend Hugh Grant’s car to unlawfully obtain information about her finances, travel plans and medicals during her pregnancy, the High Court has been told.
In written arguments, barrister David Sherborne said the private investigator targeted her and Mr Grant on behalf of the Mail on Sunday through “phone hacking their phones, landline tapping their home phones, placing a sticky window mini-microphone on the exterior of her home window, bugging Mr Grant’s car and undertaking flight and other blags through which he obtained information unlawfully or illegally about [Ms Hurley], such as her private communications with Mr Grant, her financial details, her travel arrangements and medicals during her pregnancy and birth of her son”.
Ms Hurley “has been shocked and mortified by the revelation of Associated’s unlawful acts targeting her ... the prospect of strangers listening into her live telephone calls and bugging her private property was a particularly grotesque thought that she had never considered possible”, her barrister said.
“It left her sickened to see the snatched close-up picture of her baby’s face published by Associated when he was four months old with the new understanding that this intrusion was the exploitation of unlawful acts, deliberately directed at her with that intention,” Mr Sherborne added.
“She recalls the feeling of vulnerability she felt at this time in her life, and the sense that despite precautions taken, she was unable to protect her son, or indeed other loved ones around her who similarly fell to be targeted as a result of their association with her.
“It angers [her] now to know that she never had a chance against all the artillery of unlawful means and private investigators that Associated used against her and which, unknown to her, underlay the articles published about her. She now understands how very real the feeling of being trapped and surrounded on all sides by unknown enemies truly was.”
Monday 27 March 2023 16:52 , Andy Gregory
Court proceedings have concluded for the day, with legal arguments due to resume from 10.30am on Tuesday.
In the meantime, we’ll be continuing to use the blog to post updates and background on the case.
Doreen Lawrence’s bank accounts were monitored and landline tapped, court told
Monday 27 March 2023 16:19 , Andy Gregory
Baroness Doreen Lawrence’s bank accounts were monitored to check whether she was receiving any money from other newspapers during the Daily Mail’s campaign for justice for her murdered son Stephen, the High Court has heard.
In a document made available to the media on Monday, barrister David Sherborne claimed the Labour peer was “habitually” targeted “from at least as early 1993 until at least as late 2007”.
Mr Sherborne said the targeting included “the illegal interception of the claimant’s voicemail messages, landline tapping, blagging, the monitoring of her bank accounts and phone bills, covert electronic surveillance and corrupt payments to serving Metropolitan Police Service police officers, including on the Stephen Lawrence murder investigations, for confidential information”.
Baroness Lawrence was targeted “both before and during” the Daily Mail’s Justice for Stephen Lawrence campaign, Mr Sherborne said.
The lawyer later alleged the monitoring of Baroness Lawrence’s bank accounts were “specifically to check whether the claimant was receiving ‘buy up’ money from and/or working with other newspapers during the Justice for Stephen Lawrence Campaign”.
He continued: “The claimant has suffered considerable distress and harm, as well as the loss of her dignity or standing and her personal autonomy through the unlawful acts, its resultant invasions of her privacy, and its deliberate exploitation and/or misuse of her unlawfully or illegally obtained information in the unlawful articles.”
Publisher commissioned breaking and entering into private property, court told
Monday 27 March 2023 16:13 , Andy Gregory
Associated Newspapers commissioned “breaking and entering into private property”, the lawyer for the group of figures challenging the Daily Mail publisher told the High Court.
Each of the group has been “the victim of numerous unlawful acts” carried out by the publisher or those acting on its instruction, in deeds carried out “covertly” between 1993 to 2011, lawyer David Sherborne said.
“Some of them related to articles which were the product of those underlying unlawful acts through which the product was exploited or misused,” he added.
Because “those unlawful acts were covertly carried out and concealed at the time through the use of phrases that were deliberately misleading” his clients were “put off the scent” and did not bring their claims separately earlier,” he said.
“The defendant has continued this concealment through its strenuous public denials that it has done any of those acts at all,” Mr Sherborne added.
Monday 27 March 2023 15:53 , Andy Gregory
Sir Elton John has left the High Court after attending the first day of the hearing in his claim against Associated Newspapers over allegations of unlawful information-gathering.
Mail on Sunday publisher paid investigator to ‘unlawfully' find address of politician’s lover, court told
Monday 27 March 2023 15:51 , Andy Gregory
Associated Newspapers Ltd paid a private investigator to unlawfully find the address of a man it believed was the lover of Liberal Democrat politician Sir Simon Hughes, the High Court has been told.
Referring to the believed lover as HJK, Sir Simon’s lawyer David Sherborne said in written submissions that that the “the Mail on Sunday wanted a photograph of HJK [and the claimant] in order to be able to publish a story about their relationship”.
Private investigator Glenn Mulcaire “unlawfully obtained” the man’s mobile phone number, called it and “through means of deception managed to blag his home address”, Mr Sherborne alleged, adding: “Despite this, no story was published in the end in the Mail on Sunday as a bigger story broke, namely the revelation of an affair which the then deputy prime minister, John Prescott, had had with his secretary.”
The documents go on to say that ANL paid Greg Miskiw, a freelance journalist, “for the work done by Mr Mulcaire in relation to the claimant, as referred to above, described as ‘Simon Hughes’ boyfriend’.”
Mr Sherborne added: “The claimant has suffered considerable distress and harm, as well as the loss of his dignity or standing and his personal autonomy through the unlawful acts, its resultant invasions of his privacy and its deliberate exploitation and/or misuse of his unlawfully or illegally obtained information.”
Doreen Lawrence says trusting Mail made her wonder if she ‘failed her murdered son'
Monday 27 March 2023 15:42 , Andy Gregory
Baroness Doreen Lawrence said she “wonders whether trusting the Daily Mail as she did caused her to have delayed or have failed her murdered son”, the High Court has heard.
In court documents made available to the press on Monday, her barrister David Sherborne said she feels “anger, shock and upset” about allegedly being targeted by the Daily Mail.
Baroness Lawrence “never once suspected” publisher Associated Newspapers Ltd of the allegations due to her trust in the Daily Mail, which campaigned to bring the killers of her son Stephen Lawrence to justice, her lawyer said.
“She wonders whether trusting the Daily Mail as she did caused her to have delayed or have failed her murdered son,” he added. “She asks herself whether more individuals could have been arrested, whether earlier investigations might have been more successful, and whether she could have got justice.”
Elton John had not seen copy of first child’s birth certificate before it was obtained by ANL, court told
Monday 27 March 2023 15:39 , Andy Gregory
Sir Elton John and his husband David Furnish had not seen a copy of their first child’s birth certificate before it was unlawfully obtained by Associated Newspapers Ltd, the High Court has heard.
The couple “found it particularly disturbing to understand the deliberate tactics deployed by Associated to bypass the confidentiality and ethical protections afforded to medical information”, said their lawyer David Sherborne.
“They were appalled by the unlawful articles published about the first claimant that were sourced this way. Worse still was Associated’s unlawful obtaining of their first child’s birth certificate, before they had even seen a copy themselves.
“They were heartbroken by the derogatory headline that Associated attached to it, clearly calculated to profit and generate public sensation about an event that they had so carefully guarded to keep precious. The fact that these unlawful articles, which carry so much upset, were founded through unlawful acts that were all the time deliberately concealed from them has enraged them.”
Doreen Lawrence believes son’s murder was ‘exploited’ by Daily Mail, court told
Monday 27 March 2023 15:35 , Andy Gregory
Baroness Doreen Lawrence believes the murder of her son Stephen was “exploited” by Associated Newspapers Ltd to “generate ‘exclusive’ headlines, sell newspapers, and to profit”, the High Court has been told.
In written arguments, her barrister David Sherborne said she “feels anger, shock and upset”, adding: “Most of all, however, she feels a deep sense of betrayal.
“She finds it hard to believe the level of duplicity and manipulation that was clearly at play, knowing now as she does that the Daily Mail’s outward support for her fight to bring Stephen’s killers to justice was hollow and, worse, entirely false.
“The claimant now sees that the Daily Mail’s true interests were about self-promotion and using her and her son’s murder as a means to generate ‘exclusive’ headlines, sell newspapers, and to profit.
“The claimant cannot think of any act or conduct lower than stealing and exploiting information from a mother who buried her son for this reason. She feels used and violated, and like she has been taken for a fool.”
Sir Elton John’s landline was tapped and gardener targeted by ANL, court told
Monday 27 March 2023 15:16 , Andy Gregory
Sir Elton John and David Furnish’s landline phone was tapped by a private investigator on the instructions of Associated Newspapers Limited, the High Court has been told.
Documents filed on the couple’s behalf, made available to the media on Monday, said that as well as having the landline at their home in Windsor tapped, Sir Elton’s personal assistant and the couple’s gardener were also targeted.
Their lawyer David Sherborne said in the written submission: “The claimants are outraged that Associated engaged in these unlawful and illicit acts in order to publish unlawful articles about them.
“They are also mortified to consider all their conversations, some of which were very personal indeed, were tapped, taped, packaged and consumed as a commercial product for journalists and unknown others to pick over, regardless of whether or not they were published.
“The hurt remains the same, knowing that their lives have been treated as a commodity and their precious, priceless moments of privacy degraded in this way.”
Mr Sherborne added: “In particular, they consider their private home a sacred space. To learn now that this was ruthlessly invaded, their home so violated, and their family and loved ones targeted, all through unlawful acts designed to steal and exploit their information, is unforgivable to them.”
Elton John and David Furnish ‘frightened’ by unexplained press disclosures, court told
Monday 27 March 2023 15:08 , Andy Gregory
Sir Elton John and his husband David Furnish found the unexplained disclosure of their private information in the press “frightening” and as a result have someone watching cameras in their home every night, the High Court has been told.
Associated Newspapers Ltd’s lawyer Adrian Beltrami KC quoted the pair as claiming that the “repeated, wrongful disclosures ... had a serious and profound effect upon [them] at the time of their publication”.
They were aware of “the extent to which Associated publicised private and sensitive information relating to their private and family life”, and they “became deeply paranoid and suspicious by unexplained disclosures of their private information in [Associated’s] publications, even where measures were taken to protect their privacy”, Mr Beltrami added.
Mr Beltrami said they stated that they “found these disclosures frightening, and as a consequence now have someone watching the cameras in their home of residence every night”.
However, Mr Beltrami said their case was being brought too late, arguing “there can be no doubt that by the start of 2016 Sir Elton and Mr Furnish were very much alive to the issue of (unlawful information gathering) by the press”.
The barrister added that “they have not provided any satisfactory explanation as to what necessary fact, as opposed to evidence, they did not know by October 2016 to articulate the essential elements of a claim against Associated”.
Elton John arrives in court
Monday 27 March 2023 14:08 , Sam Rkaina
Sir Elton John has arrived in Court 76 of the Royal Courts of Justice.
The singer sat at the back of the large courtroom, arriving shortly before the hearing resumed for the afternoon.
What happened the last time Prince Harry was in court against a newspaper?
Monday 27 March 2023 14:00 , Thomas Kingsley
Last July the High Court ruled a Mail on Sunday article on the Duke of Sussex’s legal claim against the Home Office contained parts that were defamatory.
The Duke of Sussex sued the Mail on Sunday’s publisher over a story on a separate High Court case over the decision to remove his automatic granting of police protection in the UK.
The February article carried the headline: “Exclusive: How Prince Harry tried to keep his legal fight with the government over police bodyguards a secret... then - just minutes after the story broke - his PR machine tried to put a positive spin on the dispute.”
Lawyers for Harry had argued the article was defamatory and suggested the duke had “improperly and cynically” tried to manipulate public opinion.
Associated Newspapers lawyers argue it is too late for Duke to bring forward claims
Monday 27 March 2023 13:55 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Lawyers for Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL) are arguing that the seven people in the privacy claims, including the Duke of Sussex, could have brought claims before October 2016, and were too late to have them heard now.
Adrian Beltrami KC, for the publisher, said in written submissions that the duke “does not offer any reason why he could not with reasonable diligence have discovered the basis for his inferential claim against Associated before October 2016”.
Quoting from Harry‘s letter of claim, he continued: “Indeed, the Duke was aware throughout this period of the intense interest in his life shown by the media and by Associated, of ‘strange things happening around his phone communications’, of ‘unexplained disclosures of private information’ in Associated’s publications and of journalists from Associated ‘regularly turning up at different locations which you would never expect them to, including South Africa... despite the extreme lengths my security team and I went to in order to protect my security and privacy’.”
“In truth, the duke had sufficient knowledge to articulate an inferential case against Associated long before October 2016,” Mr Beltrami said.
Prince Harry lost friends due to ‘paranoia’ over ‘unlawful’ stories, court told
Monday 27 March 2023 13:45 , Sam Rkaina
The Duke of Sussex had “suspicion and paranoia” caused due to the publication of articles by Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL) using unlawfully gathered information, the High Court has been told.
In written submissions for ANL, lawyers for the publisher quoted from documents filed on Harry‘s behalf.
Adrian Beltrami KC, for ANL, said the duke’s case was that “suspicion and paranoia was caused by Associated’s publication of the unlawful articles: friends were lost or cut off as a result and everyone became a ‘suspect’, since he was misled by the way that the articles were written into believing that those close to him were the source of this information being provided to Associated’s newspapers”.
The barrister continued: “The duke’s pre-action letter also stated that at the time he had become paranoid and suspicious by ‘unexplained disclosures of private information in your (ANL’s) publications’.”
Mr Beltrami added: “He stated that ‘the repeated, wrongful disclosures... had a serious and profound effect upon (him) at the time of their publication’ and that he had ‘painful memories... regarding the extent to which ANL publicised private and sensitive information relating to his private and family life’.”
Photos from the day as Prince Harry case begins
Monday 27 March 2023 13:30 , Thomas Kingsley
Judge grants anonymity for Daily Mail journalists involved in alleged phone-tapping
Monday 27 March 2023 12:57 , Thomas Kingsley
The judge overseeing the Duke of Sussex's dispute with ANL has made an order temporarily preventing the reporting of the names of journalists linked to allegations against the publisher.
Mr Justice Nicklin permitted a bid by ANL to have a reporting restriction imposed while the publisher attempts to have the claims from Harry and others against it dismissed without a trial.
The judge said it was "not usual for the court to impose reporting restrictions at such an early stage of proceedings" but concluded in this instance it was "in the interests of fairness and the administration of justice".
The court heard that with ANL yet to file a formal defence in the cases, there was not yet a full response to any "adverse comments" that might be made about the journalists. Mr Justice Nicklin said it would not be in the public interest to "for one side of a series of allegations to be put when one side is absent".
The judge also granted reporting restrictions over certain information in court documents, that ANL alleges lawyers for the Duke of Sussex and others are using in breach of orders made by Lord Justice Leveson in his inquiry into press standards.
Mr Justice Nicklin said the temporary reporting restrictions would be revisited once he reaches a judgment over the preliminary issues being argued in court this week.
Monday 27 March 2023 12:31 , Thomas Kingsley
Adrian Beltrami KC, in written submissions, argued the legal actions against his client Associated Newspapers have been brought too late and are "stale".
The barrister said the individuals have to prove they did not know earlier, or could not have discovered earlier, they might have had a claim against ANL for alleged misuse of their private information.
Mr Beltrami said that more than a decade after the Leveson Inquiry and several criminal and civil proceedings over phone hacking, "it would be surprising indeed for any reasonably informed member of the public, let alone a figure in the public eye, to have been unaware of these matters".
He continued: "The claimants have failed to show that they have a real prospect of discharging their burden at trial and the court should not hesitate to dismiss these stale claims at an early stage, thereby avoiding what would otherwise be a considerable waste of time, costs and the court's resources."
The hearing before Mr Justice Nicklin is due to conclude on Thursday.
Lawyers for Prince Harry claim unlawful acts include ‘breaking and entry into private property'
Monday 27 March 2023 12:16 , Thomas Kingsley
David Sherborne, for the group of high-profile individuals, said the unlawful acts in the claim include commissioning the "breaking and entry into private property", illegally intercepting voicemail messages, listening to live landline calls and obtaining medical records.
He said in written submissions: "The claimants each claim that in different ways they were the victim of numerous unlawful acts carried out by the defendant, or by those acting on the instructions of its newspapers, The Daily Mail and The Mail On Sunday."
"They range through a period from 1993 to 2011, even continuing beyond until 2018," the barrister added.
ANL's lawyers have said privacy claims brought by seven high-profile individuals including the Duke of Sussex and Baroness Lawrence should be dismissed without a trial.
Monday 27 March 2023 11:50 , Thomas Kingsley
The Duke of Sussex has made a surprise return to the UK for the first time since the late Queen's funeral - but is not expected to meet with the King or the Prince of Wales.
Just weeks ago, Harry laid bare his troubled relationship with his father the King and brother the Prince of Wales in his controversial autobiography Spare.
The King was due to be away on Monday on the first official state visit of his reign, but the trip to France was cancelled due to rioting over pension reforms, meaning Charles is now in the UK at the same time as Harry for the first time in six months.
But Buckingham Palace said the King was not in Windsor or London and would be leaving for a state visit to Germany on Wednesday morning.
Monday 27 March 2023 11:31 , Thomas Kingsley
Court proceedings began with a bid by ANL's lawyers to have certain reporting restrictions imposed in the case.
The Duke of Sussex sat towards the back of the courtroom, occasionally taking notes in a small black notebook as legal arguments were made by ANL's barrister Catrin Evans KC.
Actress Sadie Frost, who is also bringing a claim against the publisher, sat two seats away from Harry.
Sadie Frost arrives in court ahead of hearing
Monday 27 March 2023 11:25 , Thomas Kingsley
ICYMI: Prince Harry and Sir Elton John launch legal action against Daily Mail publishers over ‘phone hacking’
Monday 27 March 2023 10:45 , Thomas Kingsley
As the preliminary hearing is set to begin, let’s throwback to October when Prince Harry, among other high profile figures, announced they would be taking Associated Newspaper’s to court.
A group of individuals including Prince Harry and Sir Elton John have launched legal action against the publisher of the Daily Mail newspaper over phone-hacking allegations.
The allegations include the commissioning of individuals to “surreptitiously listen into and record people’s live, private telephone calls whilst they were taking place” and the impersonation of individuals to obtain medical information from private hospitals, clinics, and treatment centres by deception.
Additional claims include the accessing of bank accounts, credit histories and financial transactions through illicit means and manipulation.
“These individuals have been the subject of public interest during the course of their careers and personal lives. They are united in their desire to live in a world where the press operates freely, yet responsibly. A press that represents truth, is sourced in fact and can be trusted to operate ethically and in the interests of the British public,” the statement said.
Read the full piece from October below:
Group including Prince Harry launch legal action against Daily Mail publishers
Duke arrives in court room
Monday 27 March 2023 10:32 , Sam Rkaina
The Duke of Sussex has arrived at Court 76 of the Royal Courts of Justice in London for the preliminary hearing in his claim against Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL).
Harry, along with six other people including Sir Elton John and Baroness Doreen Lawrence, is suing the Daily Mail publisher for misuse of private information.
The duke entered the central London courtroom at shortly before 10.30am, wearing a navy tie.
Prince Harry arrives in court
Monday 27 March 2023 10:30 , Sam Rkaina
Publisher brands allegations “preposterous smears”
Monday 27 March 2023 10:29 , Sam Rkaina
In a statement announcing the launch of the legal action, released by Hamlins law firm, it was alleged the unlawful acts included hiring private investigators to secretly place listening devices inside cars and homes and the recording of private phone conversations.
The publisher hit back at the allegations, describing them at the time as “preposterous smears” and a “pre-planned and orchestrated attempt to drag the Mail titles into the phone-hacking scandal”.
A spokesperson for ANL also said the allegations were “unsubstantiated and highly defamatory claims, based on no credible evidence”.
A four-day preliminary hearing at the Royal Courts of Justice in London is due to begin on Monday, which is set to include ANL’s bid for the claims to be dismissed without a trial.
Duke of Sussex arrives in court
Monday 27 March 2023 10:15 , Press Association
The Duke of Sussex has arrived at the High Court in London for a hearing in his claim against Daily Mail publisher Associated Newspapers over allegations of unlawful information-gathering.
The publisher is bringing a bid to end High Court claims brought by people including Harry, Sir Elton John and Baroness Doreen Lawrence over alleged unlawful activity at its titles.
The group of high-profile individuals, also including Sir Elton’s husband David Furnish and actresses Liz Hurley and Sadie Frost, announced in October they were bringing claims for misuse of private information against Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL).
Their lawyers said at that time the group have “become aware of compelling and highly distressing evidence that they have been the victims of abhorrent criminal activity and gross breaches of privacy” by ANL, which is also the publisher of The Mail On Sunday and MailOnline.
