Singer Elton John, Liz Hurley, and Prince Harry are among a group taking legal action against the publisher of the Daily Mail. Photo / Getty Images
Singer Elton John, Liz Hurley, and Prince Harry are among a group taking legal action against the publisher of the Daily Mail. Photo / Getty Images
Prince Harry, Elton John and Elizabeth Hurley are among the high-profile celebrities taking legal action against a publication they claim carried out "gross breaches of privacy".
In separate lawsuits filed against Associated Newspapers Ltd (ANL) – the publisher of Daily Mail – the media company has been accused of a range of criminal practices, including the "hiring of private investigators to secretly place listening devices inside people's cars and homes".
British actress Sadie Frost and campaigner Baroness Doreen Lawrence have also taken legal action against the publisher.
London law firm Hamlins, which is representing the Duke of Sussex and Frost, said in a press release that those taking action had been the victims of "abhorrent criminal activity".
ANL has vehemently denied all allegations, with a spokesman describing the claims as "preposterous smears".
"We utterly and unambiguously refute these preposterous smears which appear to be nothing more than a pre-planned and orchestrated attempt to drag the Mail titles into the phone hacking scandal concerning articles up to 30 years old," the newspaper group said in a statement.
"These unsubstantiated and highly defamatory claims – based on no credible evidence – appear to be simply a fishing expedition by claimants and their lawyers, some of whom have already pursued cases elsewhere."
In a statement issued by Hamlins, on behalf of its clients Prince Harry and Frost, it was alleged that the activity included: "The commissioning of individuals to surreptitiously listen into and record people's live, private telephone calls whilst they were taking place.
"The payment of police officials, with corrupt links to private investigators, for inside, sensitive information. The impersonation of individuals to obtain medical information from private hospitals, clinics, and treatment centres by deception. The accessing of bank accounts, credit histories and financial transactions through illicit means and manipulation."
Elton John, whose husband David Furnish is also named in the lawsuit, Hurley and Baroness Lawrence are being represented by London law firm Gunnercooke.
Baroness Lawrence is the mother of the late Stephen Lawrence, a black, British teenager who was killed in a random, racially motivated murder while waiting for a bus in London in 1993.
The six individuals claim in their statements that they "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 Associated Newspapers".
According to Variety, court records show three separate lawsuits by Gunnercooke were filed in London's High Court on October 6, citing "misuse of private information".
The publication reports Prince Harry and Frost's lawsuits have yet to appear in court records, however Hamlins confirmed in its statement that legal action was being taken. Frost is the ex-wife of UK actor Jude Law.
Sadie Frost, the ex-wife of Jude Law is also taking legal action. Photo / Getty Images
"It is apparent to these individuals that the alleged crimes listed above represent the tip of the iceberg – and that many other innocent people remain unknowing victims of similar terrible and reprehensible covert acts," Hamlins added in a statement.
"They have now therefore banded together to uncover the truth, and to hold the journalists responsible fully accountable, many of whom still hold senior positions of authority and power today."
The lawsuit marks the fifth brought on by either Harry or his wife Meghan Markle against ANL since they stepped down as senior royals in early 2020 and moved to the US.
Harry's recent case against ANL is ongoing, regarding the Mail's coverage of his separate legal battle with the UK Government's Home Office over the decision to strip paid-security for his family when they visit the UK.
Harry launched the libel action in February over an article which alleged he had tried to keep details of his legal fight to reinstate police protection secret from the public.
The duke had a win with the case in July when a judge ruled parts of a story published by the Mail were defamatory.
Meanwhile, Meghan sued ANL for copyright infringement and breach of privacy after the Mail on Sunday published a private letter she wrote to her father, Thomas Markle Snr, in 2018, which was reproduced without her permission.
Meghan won the lawsuit in February 2021, with the Mail forced to publish a court-ordered apology.
There have been a number of damages claims over unlawful activity at newspapers in the wake of Britain's phone-hacking scandal.
That resulted in the closure of News of the World. While most of those claims have now been settled, this is the first claim to be brought against ANL.
