Prince Harry has claimed that the unlawful information gathering allegedly conducted by the Daily Mail publisher had a “profoundly distressing effect” and that he found it “disturbing to feel that my every move, thorugh or feeling was being tracked and monitored”.
He added that he had been left “paranoid beyond belief” by the alleged hacking and blagging, and that it had placed a “massive strain” on his personal relationships.
The High Court heard that Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL) “knew they had skeletons in their closet”, with Harry’s lawyer David Sherborne telling the court that there had been “clear, systematic and sustained” unlawful activities spanning at least two decades.
The duke is in attendance alongside several other household names, including Sir Elton John, his husband David Furnish, campaigner Baroness Doreen Lawrence, politician Sir Simon Hughes and actresses Sadie Frost and Liz Hurley, all of whom are all taking action against ANL.
The group claims that the publisher carried out or commissioned unlawful activities such as hiring private investigators to place listening devices inside cars, “blagging” private records and accessing private phone conversations. Their lawyer, David Sherborne, told a previous hearing that unlawful acts included listening to live landline calls and obtaining medical records.
The nine-week trial will see Harry take to the witness stand, while several journalists and editors, including long-standing former Daily Mail editor Paul Dacre, are set to give evidence.
ANL, which also publishes the Mail on Sunday, has strongly denied wrongdoing.
Key Points
- Prince Harry left 'paranoid beyond belief' by alleged unlawful activity
- Daily Mail 'knew they had skeletons in their closet' at Leveson Inquiry
- Baroness Lawrence felt 'betrayed' by Daily Mail publisher
- What other names are involved?
- Timeline of key events as Prince Harry phone hacking trial begins
What is the background to the case?
17:10 , Holly EvansThe group of household names started their legal cases against ANL in 2022, with documents setting out the claims naming dozens of journalists, including some national newspaper editors.
In 2023, ANL failed to have the cases thrown out before a trial on the basis that they were “time-barred” or brought too late.
Mr Sherborne previously said the alleged unlawful acts in the claim include illegally intercepting voicemail messages, listening to live landline calls and obtaining medical records.
In written submissions, he said: “They range through a period from 1993 to 2011, even continuing beyond until 2018.”
Mr Justice Nicklin rejected ANL’s bid to have the claims dismissed in November 2023, ruling that the publisher had not delivered a “knockout blow” to the claims.
He concluded that each of the group had a “real prospect” of demonstrating that ANL concealed “relevant facts” that would have allowed them to bring a claim against the publisher earlier.
There have been several preliminary hearings in the claim, including one in November 2024 that heard that Lady Lawrence was “alerted” to a potential legal claim by a text from Harry.
Timeline of key events as Prince Harry phone hacking trial begins
16:50 , Holly EvansThe Duke of Sussex is among seven prominent individuals initiating legal action against the publisher of the Daily Mail, with a nine-week trial commencing on Monday.
The group, which includes Sir Elton John, his husband David Furnish, and campaigner Baroness Doreen Lawrence, alleges that Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL) engaged in or commissioned unlawful activities.
These reportedly include hiring private investigators to install listening devices in cars, "blagging" private records, and accessing private phone conversations.
Read the full article here:
Timeline of key events as Prince Harry phone hacking trial begins
Trial concludes for the day
16:32 , Holly EvansThe trial of the legal claims of several high-profile figures, including the Duke of Sussex, against Associated Newspapers Limited has concluded for the day.
The hearing will resume at 10.30am on Tuesday.
Sadie Frost's 'medical records accessed' to report on ectopic pregnancy, court told
16:27 , Holly EvansMail on Sunday journalist Katie Nicholl allegedly accessed medical information on actress Sadie Frost through unlawful means, the High Court has been told.
David Sherborne, for Ms Frost, along with six others who are taking legal action against publisher Associated Newspapers Limited, said the journalist wrote a draft article containing details about Ms Frost that “not even her sisters or mother knew about”.
He said that in late 2003, Ms Frost had an unplanned ectopic pregnancy with her then boyfriend Jackson Scott, for which she had to have an operation at a private hospital. Only Mr Scott and “maybe her closest friends” knew about the pregnancy, Mr Sherborne said.
He added: “All of this is recorded by Ms Nicholl in the draft article.”
The barrister continued: “How did they know she was treated unless they had access to her voicemail or medical records?”
In a witness statement for the trial, Ms Frost said: “I was going through a divorce which was difficult enough without a story like this coming out.”
Targeting of Baroness Lawrence is a 'shocking betrayal', says lawyer
16:15 , Holly EvansThe unlawful information gathering regarding Baroness Doreen Lawrence was “hard to fathom, given what she has gone through already over the years”, her lawyer said.
In a statement read out by the barrister, Lady Lawrence said: “I was still not prepared for the feeling I had when I discovered what the Mail and (then-Daily Mail crime reporter) Stephen Wright did to me.”
She continued: “It has been a new trauma and injustice for me.”
Mr Sherborne continued that the alleged unlawful acts were “not just a stain on the legacy which is so vaunted by the Mail”, but were an “enormous and shocking betrayal of Baroness Lawrence”.
In written submissions for ANL, Antony White KC said the allegations against Mr Wright “are denied in their entirety” and “are unsupported by the available evidence”.
'I am a victim all over again,' says Stephen Lawrence's mother
15:47 , Holly EvansBaroness Doreen Lawrence has said the alleged unlawful information-gathering by the Daily Mail’s publisher has left her feeling like a “victim all over again”.
In written submissions by barrister David Sherborne, the mother of murdered Stephen Lawrence could be seen to say: “I am a victim all over again, but by people who I thought were my allies and friends.
“I am being made to fight when all I have ever wanted is to be told the plain truth and for justice to be done, and an apology.
“I am angry that I have been made to fight in the courts for over three years for things that could be so easy and simple.
“I am also angry that The Mail seem more interested in interrogating me about how I found out what they did to me, asking for original copies of the emails between me and Prince Harry, the names of the lawyers I met at The Corinthia Hotel in London on January 21 2022, then threatening to question me at trial about all this, rather than saying sorry, investigating what it did, and getting at the truth of what happened and who knew about it and authorised such things.”
Baroness Lawrence felt 'betrayed' by Daily Mail publisher
15:28 , Holly EvansBaroness Doreen Lawrence felt “bitterly let down” by the Daily Mail over its alleged use of unlawful information-gathering following the murder of her son, her lawyer has told the High Court.
David Sherborne said she was one of the first of the group to make a claim against the Mail’s publisher Associated Newspapers Limited.
Of the newspaper’s alleged information-gathering methods, he said: “Unfortunately, for Stephen’s mother, now Baroness Lawrence, she had to live through that.
“For her, it was not about the headlines but about finding out about her son.
“Her case is that despite pretending to be supportive of her and her fight for justice, the Daily Mail betrayed her.”
Private investigator's forgery claim is a 'most extraordinary volte face'
15:15 , Holly EvansDiscussing the private investigator Gavin Burrows, David Sherborne, said there had been a “lot of noise” regarding his involvement.
The court heard in November that Mr Burrows had claimed his signature on a statement confirming alleged hacking had been forged.
Mr Sherborne said statements given by Mr Burrows were “lengthy, detailed and clearly have the ring of truth”, but said the private investigator had since “performed the most extraordinary volte face” by claiming his statements were forged.
He said Mr Burrows’ change of position “flies in the face of all the evidence he gave and all the public statements he made”, meaning he was “having to suggest somehow that these signed statements must have been falsified”.
In his 2021 statement, Mr Burrows alleged to have hacked voicemails, accessed financial and medical information and tapped landlines for a journalist at the Mail on Sunday.
Mr Sherborne said that Mr Burrows was one of a “large number of private investigators” used by ANL and the claimants are not dependent on his case.
“He was just the original whistleblower,” Mr Sherborne said.
Former corrupt police officer used by ANL for 'dozens of stories', Sherborne says
14:51 , Holly EvansThe court heard that private investigator John Ross was used by Associated Newspapers Limited on a number of occasions. Mr Ross has been described in court documents as a “former corrupt police officer who became a private investigator”.
David Sherborne saiid that Mr Ross was used for dozens of stories between 2001 and 2011, and sourced information from “corrupt police officers”, but that there are “no invoices or payment records for him”.
He said this demonstrated that Mr Ross was paid in cash, including a £1,000 payment for an article titled “Robbers target Queen’s cousin for second time”.
Mr Sherborne said cash payments were “a very obvious way of paying people for things that were unlawful”.
Baroness Lawrence targeted 'five times' between 1997 and 2007, court hears
14:42 , Holly EvansBaroness Doreen Lawrence, whose teenage son Stephen was murdered in a racist attack in 1993, was targeted with five unlawful articles between 1997 and 2007, the court heard.
In written submissions, David Sherborne said: “While lacking any public interest, the targeting of Baroness Lawrence for UIG (unlawful information gathering) has had a devastating impact on her and her family, both when it occurred and was concealed, and since she discovered it.”
In an extract of her evidence provided on Monday, Lady Lawrence said: “I remember feeling like I could not even grieve the injustice of what was happening privately, even for a day, or to prepare my children for the news before the world found out.”
Sir Elton John said their home and safety of their children felt 'violated'
14:34 , Holly EvansSir Elton John and his husband David Furnish felt their home and safety of their children had been “violated” by alleged unlawful news gathering by the Daily Mail’s publisher.
In written submissions by barrister David Sherborne, he said of the couple: “They feel that their home, and the safety of their children and loved ones, has been violated.
“Mr Furnish explains that they are ‘profoundly affected by the uncertainty of not knowing how many times we were targeted… We still don’t know what was really done to us’.
He continued: “Both Sir Elton and Mr Furnish underline the outrage they feel in light of Associated’s invasion into medical details surrounding the birth of their son Zachary, and the stealing of their son’s birth certificate ‘before we even had a chance to see it ourselves’.”
Lawyers acting on behalf of ANL said these claims are “unsupported by any evidence before the court and utterly baseless”.
Emails to private investigator continued as late as 2013
14:13 , Holly EvansMail On Sunday journalists continued to use private investigator Mike Behr after a “so-called ban” in 2007 and the Leveson Inquiry into unlawful information gathering in 2011, the High Court has been told.
David Sherborne, for the Duke of Sussex and others, said: “The so-called 2007 ban did not apply to Mr Behr, nor did the Leveson Inquiry, because he was not one of the prime investigators they said they had been using.”
He also named Rebecca English as one of those who spoke to Mr Behr about the flight details of a trip Harry made between London and Cape Town.
The email exchange, from December 2013, showed the two were discussing the identity of Harry’s protection officers as the duke travelled under a pseudonym.
After being given the name of one of the officers, Mr Sherborne said that Mr Behr had replied: “It is BA flight 58 departing Cape Town.'”
Private investigator obtained flight details for Harry's ex-girlfriend Chelsy Davy
14:11 , Holly EvansDavid Sherborne, representing the high-profile figures, said that Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL) journalists used private investigator Mike Behr.
Mr Sherborne said that one of Mr Behr’s “specialisms” was obtaining flight information, such as “flight details and even seat numbers”.
The barrister continued that Mr Behr “obtained plainly unlawful information” about the travel details of the Duke of Sussex’s former girlfriend, Chelsy Davy, which he passed on to ANL journalist, Rebecca English.
Mr Sherborne also told the court that Ms English then “collaborated” with The Sun reporter Duncan Larcombe, claiming that this “demonstrates how valuable such information must have been that two rival newspapers were prepared to share it”.
The barrister claimed that Mr Behr told Ms English: “Maybe you and Duncan can plant someone next to her.”
Responding to the claims in written submissions, Antony White KC, for ANL, said: “Ms English strongly denies that she ever used Mr Behr for unlawful information-gathering.”
What is the background to this trial?
13:50 , Holly EvansThe group of household names started their legal cases against ANL in 2022, with documents setting out the claims naming dozens of journalists, including some national newspaper editors.
In 2023, ANL failed to have the cases thrown out before a trial on the basis that they were “time-barred”, or brought too late.
In written submissions for the hearing in May that year, Adrian Beltrami KC, for ANL, said that the legal actions were “stale”.
He also said the individuals had to prove they did not know earlier, or could not have discovered earlier, that they might have had a claim against it for alleged misuse of their private information.
Mr Sherborne previously said the alleged unlawful acts in the claim include illegally intercepting voicemail messages, listening to live landline calls and obtaining medical records.
In written submissions, he said: “They range through a period from 1993 to 2011, even continuing beyond until 2018.”
Mr Justice Nicklin rejected ANL’s bid to have the claims dismissed in November 2023, ruling that the publisher had not delivered a “knockout blow” to the claims.
He concluded that each of the group had a “real prospect” of demonstrating that ANL concealed “relevant facts” that would have allowed them to bring a claim against the publisher earlier.
Why is Prince Harry suing the Daily Mail’s publisher?
13:30 , Holly EvansThe trial of claims brought by the Duke of Sussex and several other high-profile figures against the publisher of the Daily Mail over allegations of unlawful information gathering is due to begin at the High Court on Monday.
Harry, Sir Elton John, his husband David Furnish, campaigner Baroness Doreen Lawrence, politician Sir Simon Hughes and actresses Sadie Frost and Liz Hurley are all taking action against Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL).
The group claims that the publisher carried out or commissioned unlawful activities such as hiring private investigators to place listening devices inside cars, “blagging” private records and accessing private phone conversations.
Read the full article here:
Why is Prince Harry suing the Daily Mail and which other celebrities are involved?
Court breaks for lunch
13:06 , Holly EvansThe court has now adjourned and will resume at 2pm.
'No public interest' in the 14 articles published about the duke, lawyer says
13:06 , Holly EvansThere was “no meritorious public interest” in the 14 articles about the Duke of Sussex which are alleged to be based on unlawful information gathering, lawyers have claimed.
In his written submissions on behalf of Harry and others, barrister David Sherborne said: “In each case of unlawful information gathering and each respective article which followed from it, the Duke of Sussex reasonably expected that the information obtained by unlawful information gathering for the purposes of the relevant article was and would remain private, and in any event that such information would not be gathered by third parties by intrusive unlawful information gathering.
“There was also, in each case, no meritorious public interest in the information so obtained, still less in obtaining it by unlawful information gathering as the journalists and Associated did.”
'Talented voice actor' billed £11,000 for month's work with ANL, court told
12:56 , Holly EvansOne private investigator, Jonathan Stafford, invoiced Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL) for up to £11,000 for his work.
Mr Sherborne said Mr Stafford was a “talented voice actor” who was “known on the features department as a blagger, but he was not identified to the Leveson Inquiry as one of the private investigators who was paid”.
The barrister continued: “So regular was his work for Associated that he put in monthly bills for several thousands of pounds at a time.”
Mr Sherborne claimed that this included monthly invoices for £11,000 and almost £8,000, which he said “demonstrate the clearly unlawful nature of the information he was instructed to obtain”.
The barrister said the work was “far more than merely obtaining an address or a phone number”, given that there was information “freely available” to ANL’s titles on “lawful databases”.
He continued that ANL’s response to the claims regarding Mr Stafford was “inconsistent and unpersuasive” and that the publisher was “still using private investigators between 2011 and 2014, after – long after – the Leveson Inquiry had finished”.
Prince Harry left 'paranoid beyond belief' by alleged unlawful activity
12:49 , Holly EvansThe alleged unlawful information gathering (UIG) by the Daily Mail’s publisher left the Duke of Sussex “paranoid beyond belief”, he told the court through lawyers.
In his written submissions, barrister David Sherborne said: “The Duke of Sussex has been caused great distress by each and every episode of unlawful information gathering against him by Associated or on its behalf, and the fruits of that unlawful information gathering in the 14 unlawful articles of which he complains.”
The submissions continue: “It is evident from the articles and the evidence of the Duke of Sussex that the targeting of him has had a profoundly distressing effect, with episodes of pleaded UIG described as ‘disturbing to feel that my every move, thought or feeling was being tracked and monitored just for the Mail to make money out of it’, ‘intrusion (that) was terrifying’ for loved ones, creating a ‘massive strain’ on personal relationships while invidiously ‘creating distrust and suspicion’, and ‘driving me paranoid beyond belief, isolating me’.”
Harry found unlawful information gathering 'deeply troubling'
12:39 , Holly EvansThe Duke of Sussex has told a court in writing that he found alleged unlawful practices used by the Daily Mail’s publisher “deeply troubling”.
In written submissions by barrister David Sherborne, Harry can be seen to say: “I find it deeply troubling that Associated used phrases such as ‘sources’, ‘friends” and the like as a device to hide unlawful information gathering.
“I find it shocking to learn from disclosure that Associated were even using (private investigator) Mike Behr to blag my flight details as late as 2014 for work that he did not even want to put into writing.”
Private investigator described ANL as his 'best customers' for two years, court told
12:31 , Holly EvansA private investigator described the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday as his “best customers” for up to two years, following his conviction for accessing information illegally, the High Court has heard.
David Sherborne, for the Duke of Sussex and others, told the court that Steve Whittamore’s records included details of being commissioned by journalist Katie Nicholl.
The investigator, who was convicted in 2005, also referenced a “blag” against the Post Office and getting phone details about Sadie Frost and Jude Law.
Mr Sherborne said: “The beauty of Mr Whittamore’s books and invoices is that he meticulously noted down journalists and the type of work he was commissioned to do.”
The barrister continued: “The Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday continued to instruct him well after he was raided, arrested and even after he was convicted.
“As he says, Associated remained his ‘best customers’ until April 2007.”
ANL 'strongly denies' intercepting voicemails about Prince Harry
12:22 , Holly EvansAssociated Newspapers Limited “strongly denies” that there was any unlawful information gathering, including voicemail interception, directed at the Duke of Sussex or his named associates.
Antony White KC said in written submissions that the articles in the case “were sourced entirely legitimately from information variously provided by contacts of the journalists responsible, including individuals in the Duke of Sussex’s social circle, press officers and publicists, freelance journalists, photographers and prior reports”.
He added: “At all material times, the Duke of Sussex’s social circle was and was known to be a good source of leaks or disclosure of information to the media about what he got up to in his private life.”
Mr White later said that Harry also discussed his private life in the media, and information about his life was also provided by Palace spokespeople.
Claimants had 'leaky' social circles, lawyers for ANL claim
12:10 , Holly EvansThe celebrities bringing legal action against the Daily Mail’s publisher had “leaky” social circles, the High Court has been told by lawyers for the newspaper group.
Antony White KC, for Associated Newspapers Limited, said in written submissions that apart from a “disavowed” witness statement from private investigator Gavin Burrows, allegations of phone hacking and tapping are “wholly inferential”.
Mr White said that “at its highest it depends on drawing inferences” from payment records to third-party investigators which may be close in time to articles being published.
He continued: “This is in reality little more than guess work – it involves jumping to conclusions based on insufficient evidence, or worse, artificially selecting and presenting evidence to fit the preconceived agenda.
“It also ignores the fact that references in articles to a ‘friend’, or similar, as a source can be accurate.
“The reality is that the social circles of the celebrity claimants, ie all the claimants bar Baroness Lawrence and Sir Simon Hughes, were ‘leaky’ and their friends and friends of friends or associates did regularly provide information to the press about the claimants’ private lives, for obvious reasons on a confidential basis.
“In the cases of Ms Hurley, Sir Elton John and David Furnish, and Ms Frost Law the claimants themselves put personal information into the public domain, and this will have encouraged members of their social circles to provide further information.”
Unlawful information gathering had 'profoundly negative impact' on Harry's relationships
11:58 , Holly EvansThe alleged unlawful information gathering by the Daily Mail’s publisher is “likely to have… had a profoundly negative impact” on the Duke of Sussex’s personal relationships, lawyers have claimed.
In his written submissions on behalf of Harry and others, barrister David Sherborne said: “The fact that information concerning him, when misused, is inherently likely to have, and in fact has had, a profoundly negative impact on his personal relationships, especially with those of his associates involved in the relevant story, and private life, given his status and the interest of the public, as opposed to in the public interest, which is clearly distinguishable, in stories of almost any quality concerning him.
“The Duke of Sussex’s evidence is often poignant in this regard, both as to the safety concerns which Associated’s intrusions caused him, and the grievous disturbances they caused in his relationships with those he was close to, and indeed his own peace of mind.”
The submissions continue: “Where applicable, the fact that the information contained in the unlawful articles was exclusive, which clearly increases the inherent likelihood, the Duke of Sussex does not aver that it follows that every exclusive item must be the fruit of unlawful information gathering, that the information was not obtained from prior publications and was obtained by unlawful means.”
Private investigators allegedly commissioned to find flight and bank details
11:56 , Holly EvansDavid Sherborne said in court that private investigator Trace Direct International, also known as Express Locate International (ELI) and BDI UK Consultancy, were commissioned by Associated Newspapers Limited journalists for articles.
Mr Sherborne said that this included being commissioned for reports related to the then-home secretary, David Blunkett, and his “alleged relationship” with estate agent Sally Anderson, written in 2005 by reporter Sam Greenhill.
The barrister continued that the group of high-profile individuals have “had a drip feed of documents that have shown the unlawful nature of the information obtained by Mr Greenhill” for the articles.
Mr Sherborne claimed that Mr Greenhill traced bank details by “using ELI unlawfully” and also accessed flight details.
He said: “Mr Greenhill has plainly obtained flight information which we say cannot possibly have been obtained lawfully.”
Mr Sherborne continued that Mr Greenhill’s “propensity to use private investigators” is “very much an issue” in the trial, as the reporter “denies asking ELI to do anything unlawful”.
Articles included 'detailed financial information'
11:45 , Holly EvansDavid Sherborne, for the Duke of Sussex and others, pointed to articles published by Associated Newspapers Limited in which he said suggests its journalists were using private investigators to obtain sensitive information unlawfully.
One story, about the late comedian Ronnie Barker’s son Adam, revealed how much money he had in his bank accounts.
Quoting the article, Mr Sherborne said: “‘Adam’s bank account contains substantial sums, according to sources.
“‘We understand the total figure to be £60,000.
“‘About half is in a savings account and the rest in a current account.'”
He added that obtaining “detailed financial information” such as this is “part of the work they did”.
Prince Harry's claims based on 14 articles between 2001 and 2013
11:41 , Holly EvansThe Duke of Sussex’s claims against the publisher of the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday are based on 14 articles by two journalists between 2001 and 2013, written submissions say.
Barrister David Sherborne’s submissions read: “The unlawful articles in this claim were predominantly within the Diary column of the Mail on Sunday, but include articles in the Daily Mail as well.
“The Duke’s claim is in misuse of private information in relation to each of the 14 unlawful articles.”
Daily Mail lawyer says claims have 'no such foundation'
11:24 , Holly EvansIn written submissions on behalf of Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL), Antony White KC said that the allegations in this trial are different from claims made against News Group Newspapers (NGN) and Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN) – publishers the Duke of Sussex has previously brought legal action against.
He said: “Unlike in the case of NGN and MGN where the convictions of journalists for phone hacking and overwhelming incriminating evidence led rapidly to admissions of liability and settlement, the claims against Associated have no such foundation.”
Mr White continued: “The claimants have failed to establish that the most serious categories of alleged unlawful information gathering (UIG) – phone hacking and phone tapping – took place at Associated at all, and their allegation of burglary to order was struck out by the court.
“The allegation that these practices were ‘habitual and widespread’ at Associated’s titles was simply untrue.”
'Mass destruction' of emails and call data, Sherborne says
11:18 , Holly EvansReferring to evidence in the case against the Daily Mail publisher, David Sherborne said there were “masses upon masses of missing documents” and a “huge number of missing invoices”.
He said that an “enormous” volume of materials including call data from journalists “no longer exist in the million” and that there had been “mass destruction of any pre-2004 emails”.
ANL's disclosure has been "piecemeal" and "difficult", he adds.
He also said the “claimants are not the guilty parties, and have done nothing wrong”, adding that they “are the victims”.
Daily Mail 'knew they had skeletons in their closet' at Leveson Inquiry
11:01 , Holly EvansDavid Sherborne told the court that these acts of unlawful information gathering “involved journalists from both the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday and every significant editorial desk”.
Mr Sherborne also said that ANL had denied any unlawful acts at the Leveson Inquiry, and its position was “a clear and unequivocal one”.
He said: “They emphatically denied that there had been any unlawful activities at all. In short, they swore that they were a clean ship.”
But he continued: “Associated knew that these emphatic denials were not true.”
He added: “They knew they had skeletons in their closet.”
'This was no clean ship', Harry's lawyer says
10:49 , Holly EvansDavid Sherborne, for the Duke of Sussex and others, said the publishers of the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday were engaged in unlawful information gathering over “at least two decades”.
He said Associated Newspapers Limited used private investigators who were “commissioned or involved in obtaining unlawful information for individual articles or episodes”.
Information included references to vehicle checks, friends and family numbers, telephone bills, mobile phone ownership and flight details, which Mr Sherborne said was revealed through invoices from private investigators.
He added: “There is evidence, indisputable evidence, in the documents that Associated journalists and senior executives were commissioning and approving the acquisition and use of unlawfully obtained information, and they must have known that.
“That is why we say this was no clean ship, far from it.”
Trial begins at the High Court
10:35 , Holly EvansThe trial has now begun, with the seven claimants to set out their opening arguments over the next day and a half.
As a reminder, they allege Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL), which publishes the Daily Mail, engaged in unlawful information gathering between 1993 and 2011.
The claimants are: Prince Harry, Prince Harry, Sir Elton John and his husband, David Furnish, actress Elizabeth Hurley, Sadie Frost, Baroness Doreen Lawrence, mother of Stephen Lawrence and former Liberal Democrat politician Sir Simon Hughes.
Courtroom assembles
10:29 , Holly EvansThe courtroom has assembled with proceedings due to begin shortly.
Watch: Prince Harry arrives at High Court for Daily Mail legal battle
10:16 , Holly EvansActresses Liz Hurley and Sadie Frost arrive in court
10:13 , Holly EvansActresses Liz Hurley and Sadie Frost have been pictured outside the Royal Courts of Justice.
Ms Hurley was seen arriving with her son, Damian.
In pictures: Duke of Sussex at the High Court
10:11 , Holly Evans
Prince Harry arrives at court
10:09 , Holly EvansPrince Harry has just arrived at the High Court in London ahead of his case against the publisher of the Daily Mail.
The trial is due to begin at 10.30am and will last for nine weeks.
Timeline of key events as Prince Harry phone hacking trial begins
10:04 , Holly EvansThe Duke of Sussex is among seven prominent individuals initiating legal action against the publisher of the Daily Mail, with a nine-week trial commencing on Monday.
The group, which includes Sir Elton John, his husband David Furnish, and campaigner Baroness Doreen Lawrence, alleges that Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL) engaged in or commissioned unlawful activities.
These reportedly include hiring private investigators to install listening devices in cars, "blagging" private records, and accessing private phone conversations.
Here is a timeline of the group’s claim against ANL:
Timeline of key events as Prince Harry phone hacking trial begins
Baroness Lawrence 'alerted' to legal claim by text from Prince Harry
09:34 , Holly EvansBaroness Doreen Lawrence of Clarendon is known for her campaigning following the racist attack in which her son Stephen Lawrence, 18, was murdered in 1993.
The aspiring architect was stabbed to death by a group of up to six white youths as he waited at a bus stop in Well Hall Road, Eltham, south-east London.
The Daily Mail, under then-editor Paul Dacre, campaigned to bring Mr Lawrence’s killers to justice.
On the front page of the paper’s 14 February 1997 edition, the paper labelled five men – Gary Dobson, Neil Acourt, Jamie Acourt, Luke Knight, and David Norris – as “murderers” and challenged them to sue the newspaper for libel.
In January 2012, Dobson and Norris were found guilty of being involved in the attack and sentenced to life imprisonment, after a forensic review of the case found significant new scientific evidence on clothing seized from their homes following the murder.
Lady Lawrence took her seat in the House of Lords in 2013.
The High Court has previously heard that the peer was “alerted” to a potential legal claim by a text from Harry.
In written submissions for a preliminary hearing in November 2024, Catrin Evans KC, for ANL, said: “Litigation appears to have been contemplated by Baroness Lawrence almost immediately after the text was received by her.”
Speaking to the BBC in September last year, Lady Lawrence said she felt “disbelief” when Harry contacted her.
She said: “It just floors you, because you don’t expect that, but not somebody like me anyway.
“You know, all I’m trying to do over the years is just to try and get justice for my son.”
What has the judge already ruled on?
09:09 , Holly EvansMr Justice Nicklin has made several orders in the case already, some more significant than others.
In November 2023, he dismissed ANL’s bid to have the claims thrown out without a trial, stating in a 95-page judgment that the publisher had “not been able to deliver a ‘knockout blow’ to the claims of any of these claimants”.
In October last year, he ruled that an allegation that ANL commissioned “burglary to order” could not go to trial.
At a hearing earlier that month, Mr White made a bid to have allegations that two Mail on Sunday journalists burgled the home of Michael Ward in 1992 and stole documents thrown out ahead of the trial.
And in a judgment, Mr Justice Nicklin, who is hearing the case, agreed, saying that “even if proved true, they cannot assist in the fair resolution of the claimants’ claims”.
In November 2023, the judge said the legal challenges could not use information drawn from ledgers given by ANL to the Leveson Inquiry into press standards in 2011 and 2012, unless given permission by the government.
But in March 2024, ministers said the confidential Leveson Inquiry documents relating to Daily Mail records of payments to private investigators could be disclosed in the legal action.
What other names are involved?
09:01 , Holly EvansAs well as Harry, the claimants include Sir Elton John, his husband David Furnish, campaigner Baroness Doreen Lawrence, actress Sadie Frost, Liz Hurley and politician Sir Simon Hughes.
Harry and the other claimants are all expected to provide evidence, with the duke’s time in the witness box set to be on Thursday. Sir Elton and Mr Furnish are expected to give evidence remotely.
Lawyers for ANL are also expected to call a number of witnesses to give evidence, including former Daily Mail editor Paul Dacre.
The trial, which is expected to last nine weeks, will start with openings from each side, and each claimant’s case will be presented with supporting witnesses, followed by ANL presenting its case.
Trial against the Daily Mail to begin at the High Court
08:52 , Holly EvansThe trial of claims brought by the Duke of Sussex and several other high-profile figures against the publisher of the Daily Mail over allegations of unlawful information gathering is due to begin at the High Court on Monday.
Harry, Sir Elton John, his husband David Furnish, campaigner Baroness Doreen Lawrence, politician Sir Simon Hughes and actresses Sadie Frost and Liz Hurley are all taking action against Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL).
The group claims that the publisher carried out or commissioned unlawful activities such as hiring private investigators to place listening devices inside cars, “blagging” private records and accessing private phone conversations.
Barrister David Sherborne, for the group, told the hearing that the unlawful acts in the claim include illegally intercepting voicemail messages, listening to live landline calls and obtaining medical records.
In written submissions, he said: “They range through a period from 1993 to 2011, even continuing beyond until 2018.”
ANL, which also publishes the Mail on Sunday, has strongly denied wrongdoing.
