Closing summary
Actor Liz Hurley was “devastated” by the allegation that her home landlines had been tapped, the trial in her legal action against the publisher of the Daily Mail has been told.
Hurley is one of seven people, including the Duke of Sussex, Elton John, Baroness Doreen Lawrence and Simon Hughes, suing the publisher over allegations of unlawful information gathering (UIG). Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL) strongly denies wrongdoing and is defending the claims.
The alleged unlawful information gathering in Hurley’s case relates to 15 articles between 2002 and 2011. She said in her written evidence: “The Mail’s unlawful acts against me involve landline tapping my phones and recording my live telephone conversations, placing surreptitious mics on my home windows, stealing my medical information when I was pregnant with Damian and other monstrous, staggering things.”
Hurley continued: “Above all, it was the discovery that The Mail had tapped the landlines of my home phones and tape recorded my live telephone conversations that devastated me. I had not come across this brutal invasion of privacy in either of my two battles with the other newspapers. I felt crushed. It represented the ultimate violation of privacy.”
Hurley became visibly upset in the witness box, crying on several occasions as she was taken through a number of news articles. Giving evidence, she said she did not complain about the articles at the time, because from what she remembered, “complaints were for libel”.
In written submissions for the trial, Antony White KC, for ANL, said the allegations of UIG by Associated’s journalists, “including of phone hacking and phone tapping, in connection with Ms Hurley or her 10 named associates” are “unsupported by the evidence before the court”.
Prince Harry returned to the Royal Courts of Justice in London on Thursday morning, a day after giving his evidence, before leaving the building shortly before 12.45pm.
That’s all from our coverage of the Daily Mail case for today. Thanks for following along.
Updated
Hurley is asked by her own barrister, David Sherborne, about having to answer about friends talking about her in anonymous ways to journalists. She says the idea is “preposterous”.
Asked how she feels about having to come to court, Hurley concludes her evidence by saying: “With all due respect, I don’t really want to be here… I don’t really like talking about things that have happened to me in the past and I find it very painful.”
Other than some legal discussions, the court has now finished for the day.
Updated
We’re back after the lunch break and Antony White, for ANL, continues to quiz Hurley about when and what she knew about allegations about the Mail, from the claimants’ research team.
This is all about whether the claimants, including Hurley, have made their claim too late to make a legal claim.
There is now a break in proceedings for lunch.
The Duke of Sussex has left the Royal Courts of Justice.
Shortly before 12.45pm, Harry could be seen leaving the central London building.
A major part of ANL’s case is that the claimants have waited too long before bringing a case. They argue they learned they had a serious case against the publisher after the October 2016 cut off date for legal action.
White has been repeatedly pushing Hurley that she could have made inquiries before that date if she had been concerned about ANL’s activities - and must have been aware she could have a case.
He suggests that she donated a large amount to Hacked Off and her friend and actor Hugh Grant, who has worked closely with the group, and must have been kept updated about its work.
Hurley says she did not keep up to date with Hacked Off and maintained she only learned about serious allegations in relation to ANL later.
Antony White, the lead barrister for ANL, repeatedly suggests the information in the articles in her claim were obtained by lawful means and sources who passed on the information.
He put it to Hurley that people did leak info about her “openly to the press and to journalists”.
White presented a series of articles in which he said Hurley’s friends were quoted by name and others in which information was sourced to friends. He also pointed to articles in which Hurley had spoken about her relationships and her pregnancy.
However, Hurley, who had to compose herself several times as she talked about wanting to protect her son, said the quotes from named friends were sanctioned and uncontroversial.
She said that both their named quotes and her own in interviews were “benign” and did not give away private information.
The claim over the tapping of lines and bugging comes from a now “disavowed” witness statement from the private investigator Gavin Burrows.
Breaking down again, she says she feels bad that her son will learn about some of the things reported today because of the trial.
“Everyone’s privacy is being invaded in this terrible way and I feel very helpless about that,” she says.
Analysis: Prince Harry’s emotional testimony offers portrait of privilege and paranoia
My colleague Esther Addley on how the sometimes tetchy responses from the Duke of Sussex suggest his relationship with the press has caused a deep, raw wound:
A minute before 11.30am on Wednesday, the rescheduled start time for the latest episode of his battle against sections of the British press, Prince Harry slipped into the rear of court 76 at the Royal Courts of Justice in London, flanked by his security detail. Then he took a seat at the back, armed with a bottle of water and a grievance built over decades.
He has been here before, of course. This is the third major newspaper publisher that the Duke of Sussex has pursued at this court over alleged illegal information gathering, but the prince seemed especially eager to have his say against Associated Newspapers, the publishers of the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday.
A brief false alarm over the arrival in court of Mr Justice Nicklin saw the assembled lawyers, journalists and members of the public briefly bob to their feet and back down again, amid giggles. Harry alone stayed on his feet, standing silently above the rows of lawyers for several minutes, until the judge finally made his entrance.
It is a year almost to the day since News Group Newspapers (NGN), publishers of the Sun, gave the prince “a full and unequivocal apology” and £10m to settle Harry’s case against them for phone hacking, surveillance and misuse of private information. A year earlier, he had won substantial damages against Mirror Group Newspapers over phone hacking at the Daily Mirror.
Prince Harry accuses Daily Mail publisher of wanting to drive him ‘to drugs and drink’
Prince Harry accused the publisher of the Daily Mail of wanting to drive him “to drugs and drinking” by placing his life under surveillance, as he told the high court that it continued to “come after” him and his wife.
The Duke of Sussex was on the verge of tears yesterday as he said Associated Newspapers Ltd (ANL) had continued to make Meghan’s life “an absolute misery” during his litigation against it.
He is alleging the publisher used unlawful information gathering to secure stories about him and those close to him.
In a brief speech at the end of his court appearance, the duke accused the publisher of the Daily Mail and the Mail on Sunday of “delving into every single aspect of my private life, listening in to calls, blagging flights so they can find out where I’m going”.
He said he had never believed details of his life should be “open season to be commercialised by these people”, describing the legal action as a “recurring traumatic experience”.
Harry said:
Through the course of this litigation, it’s only got worse, not better. I think it’s fundamentally wrong to put all of us through this again when all we wanted was an apology and some accountability.
With his voice wavering, he added:
They continue to come after me. They have made my wife’s life an absolute misery, my lord.
The Duchess of Sussex sued ANL and won in 2021 after the Mail on Sunday published parts of a personal letter to her father, Thomas Markle. A judge ruled that Meghan had a “reasonable expectation that the contents of the letter would remain private”. She later won a copyright claim over the letter.
Harry gave two hours of testimony as the first witness in the case that he and six other prominent figures have brought against ANL, accusing it of using private investigators, hacking and “blagging” information by unlawful means.
Liz Hurley became very emotional in the witness box, crying as she was shown some of the articles relating to her claim, PA reports.
She said she did not need a break, but took a moment to compose herself, wiping her eyes and nose with a tissue.
Hurley says Mail tapped her landline
In her witness statement, Liz Hurley said the allegation that her home landlines had been tapped “devastated” her.
She said in her written evidence: “The Mail’s unlawful acts against me involve landline tapping my phones and recording my live telephone conversations, placing surreptitious mics on my home windows, stealing my medical information when I was pregnant with Damian and other monstrous, staggering things.”
Hurley continued: “Above all, it was the discovery that The Mail had tapped the landlines of my home phones and tape recorded my live telephone conversations that devastated me.
“I had not come across this brutal invasion of privacy in either of my two battles with the other newspapers. I felt crushed. It represented the ultimate violation of privacy.”
She added: “There’s a vast difference - both indefensible - between someone intercepting a voicemail and someone listening in on every single phone call in your home and concealing a tape recorder and attaching it to your home BT wire to record your live telephone conversations.
“I was seething when I discovered The Mail did this to me.”
Updated
Asked by Antony White KC, who is representing Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL), why she did not complain about the 15 articles in her claim at the time they were published between 2002 and 2011, Hurley said it was because from what she remembered, “complaints were for libel”.
She added: “They (the articles) were in essence true. I believe that is because people were listening to me speak.
“I know that is not for me to discuss and to give my opinion on.”
Hurley said: “There were so many deeply hurtful and damaging articles about me in the media. It became just a business of unpleasantness.”
Hurley also told the court that sometimes she would worry if she had said something too loudly, but “there were microphones on the windowsill of my dining room... I was being listened to”.
Hurley said: “Yes, there were leaks, but they were not from my friends.”
Liz Hurley has stepped into the witness box to give evidence in her legal action against the publisher of the Daily Mail.
Wearing an emerald green knitted dress, black suede boots, and carrying a cream handbag Hurley took the oath, PA reports.
She is accompanied in court by her son, Damian Hurley, and is expected to give evidence for a day.
Updated
The Duke of Sussex has returned to a court in London for the fourth day of the trial of his legal action against the publisher of the Daily Mail, PA reports.
Harry arrived at the Royal Courts of Justice for a fourth consecutive day around 10.05am on Thursday, after giving evidence for around two hours in his High Court claim against Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL) on Wednesday.
Liz Hurley arrives at the Royal Courts of Justice
Liz Hurley has arrived at the Royal Courts of Justice for the fourth day of the trial of her legal action against the publisher of the Daily Mail.
Hurley is expected to give evidence on Thursday and arrived at the central London court at around 9.45am with her son, Damian Hurley.
Updated
Actor Liz Hurley expected to give evidence in court today
Actor Liz Hurley is expected to give evidence at the Royal Courts of Justice this morning as part of the ongoing Prince Harry v Daily Mail trial.
She will be supported by the Duke of Sussex himself, who will return to the High Court on Thursday to support his fellow claimants in their legal action.
Harry gave evidence for around two hours in London on Wednesday, during which he said Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL), which also publishes the Mail on Sunday, made his wife Meghan’s life “an absolute misery”.
A spokesperson for the duke said on Wednesday evening that he would attend court again “to support, and show solidarity with, the other claimants”.
The duke, Elton John and his husband David Furnish, campaigner Baroness Doreen Lawrence, politician Simon Hughes, and actresses Sadie Frost and Hurley are bringing legal action against ANL over allegations of unlawful information gathering.
The alleged unlawful information gathering in the duke’s case relates to 14 articles between 2001 and 2013. ANL has strongly denied wrongdoing.
We will be bringing you all the latest news lines from the High Court throughout the day. Stay tuned.
