Prince Harry's lawyers have 'compelling evidence' in Mail trial

Lawyers for Prince Harry claim they have 'compelling evidence' he was the victim of unlawful information gathering by newspapers, the High Court has heard.

The Duke of Sussex alleges he was targeted by journalists from the Daily Mail and The Mail On Sunday, who are said to have commissioned private detectives to hack phones and 'blag' information.

Associated Newspapers, publisher of both Mail titles, says the allegations are untrue and ‘preposterous’.

The Duke of Sussex flew to Britain from his home in California for the start of the nine-week trial and he is expected to give evidence at the Royal Courts of Justice on Thursday.

He is one of seven high-profile claimants who allege their private information was misused.

Singer Sir Elton John and his husband David Furnish, actress Elizabeth Hurley, Baroness Doreen Lawrence, the mother of murdered teenager Stephen Lawrence, former Lib Dem MP Sir Simon Hughes and actress Sadie Frost have also claimed they were targeted.

Harry sat in the courtroom as the case formally began, flanked by Sir Simon and Miss Frost, the former wife of actor Jude Law.

Miss Hurley and her son Damian sat a row in front of them, directly behind the barrister for the claimants, David Sherborne. Sir Elton and Mr Furnish watched proceedings on a live video link.

Opening the case for the claimants, Mr Sherborne told the High Court there was 'clear, systematic and sustained use of unlawful information gathering' at the Daily Mail and The Mail On Sunday.

He said: 'There can be little doubt that journalists and executives across the Mail titles engaged in or were complicit in the culture of unlawful information gathering that wrecked the lives of so many.'

Mr Sherborne said Associated Newspapers had spent millions on private investigators between 1991 and 2011, allegedly to obtain information unlawfully.

He outlined the impact of the alleged wrongdoing on each claimant, saying Prince Harry had found reports about his personal life 'disturbing' and that they had damaged his relationships.

Mr Sherborne said Baroness Lawrence felt the alleged misconduct by journalists was 'a new trauma and injustice'.

And he said Miss Frost's claim included allegations that a journalist at The Mail on Sunday had obtained highly personal details about her medical care, including an ectopic pregnancy that necessitated an abortion. A draft article was written about the ectopic pregnancy, but it was never published.

In his written legal arguments, Mr Sherborne said each of the claimants were entitled to 'very substantial award of damages to compensate them for the wrongs that have been committed against them'.

Many of the claimants launched legal action after private investigator Gavin Burrows ‘confessed’ to carrying out illegal activities for the newspapers.

But he has since denied ever working for Associated Newspapers and claims a ‘witness statement’ presented by the claimants’ legal team was not written by him, and that the signature on it is a forgery.

When the claimants launched their case in 2022 they also alleged ‘the commissioning of burglaries or the breaking and entering of private property in order to obtain private information’.

That allegation was struck out by the court at a preliminary hearing last year.

Associated Newspapers has said its journalists relied on legitimate sources to gather information. It has denied allegations they breached the claimants' privacy by commissioning private investigators to hack into mobile phone voicemail messages, eavesdrop on live landline phone calls and 'blag' personal information including medical and financial records, and ex-directory phone numbers.

The case continues.