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, court documents have shown as he made a surprise appearance at the High Court in London.
Harry, Sir Elton John, his husband David Furnish, Baroness Doreen Lawrence of Clarendon and Sadie Frost all attended the Royal Courts of Justice on Monday for the start of the first hearing in their claims against Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL). The high-profile individuals are part of a group, which also includes Liz Hurley and former Lib Dem MP Sir Simon Hughes, bringing privacy claims against the publisher over allegations it carried out or commissioned illegal or unlawful information-gathering.
This included the hiring of private investigators to place listening devices inside cars, the “blagging” of private records 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.
