An American private investigator has told the High Court he engaged in "unlawful stuff" concerning the Duke of Sussex for the Daily Mail and the Mail on Sunday, though he "cannot recall what exactly".
Dan Portley-Hanks, also known as "Detective Danno", gave evidence on Tuesday in the ongoing trial where several high-profile figures, including the Duke of Sussex, Sir Elton John, and Baroness Doreen Lawrence, are suing Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL).
The claimants allege they were subjected to unlawful information gathering by the publisher. ANL strongly denies any wrongdoing and is defending the claims, asserting that the claimants have been unable to "evidence these so-called confessions" by private investigators, including Mr Hanks, regarding unlawful activity.
In his witness statement, Mr Hanks, 79, stated he worked for ANL titles from the early 1990s until the early 2010s.
He recalled: "I recall that I did stuff for the Mail On Sunday and Daily Mail in relation to Prince Harry."
He added: "I know that I did unlawful stuff on him, but I cannot recall what exactly."
Mr Hanks explained he became a private investigator after his release from jail in 1979, becoming an "independent supplier of data to British tabloid reporters" from around 1993.
He claimed he began receiving "a lot of work" from Mail On Sunday journalists Caroline Graham and Sharon Churcher, with the papers becoming his "best client and the biggest payer".
He said Ms Graham and Ms Churcher "frequently" asked him to find phone numbers, stating: "All I needed was a name or a phone number, and I could find a target’s contact and other private details, usually within minutes."
Mr Hanks also alleged that Ms Churcher asked him to send money to a former police officer, which was then used to pay a serving police officer for access to confidential files related to Jeffrey Epstein.
He further claimed he was asked to trace one of the paedophile financier’s victims, whom he identified as "Virginia".
He stated: "I got the details of the aunt, and the Mail On Sunday contacted the aunt, inviting her to get in touch, which she did. The Mail On Sunday were willing to spend as much money to identify her and track her down."
Regarding other public figures, Mr Hanks recalled doing "stuff" for Sir Elton John, which involved "getting contact information for him and his boyfriend or significant other".
He also claimed to have done "something" involving Liz Hurley, but "cannot recall what it was".
Antony White KC, representing ANL, countered these claims in written submissions, stating the publisher "strongly denies" that the Duke of Sussex was the subject of unlawful information gathering.
The barrister highlighted that Mr Hanks’ claim of coming forward to help the claimants in 2021 contradicted evidence from the Duke of Sussex, who stated he became aware of a "confession" allegedly made by Mr Hanks in 2020.
Mr White also pointed to an "inability on the part of the claimants to evidence these so-called confessions" by Mr Hanks, suggesting that "purported evidence being obtained through financial inducements and threats."
He added that "no specific incidents" of commissioning private investigators were alleged in relation to Ms Graham.
Addressing Mr Hanks’ claim of "corrupt payments" to a police officer, Mr White argued that the documents were sourced by Ms Churcher from "exhibits placed on the public record" in civil proceedings involving Epstein, and that the incident "provides no evidence of propensity to commission or use the product of unlawful information gathering".
He concluded: "No document has been produced capable of supporting the allegation of corruption. Mr Hanks’ evidence is lacking in any of the specificity which should be expected to support such serious allegations."
Mr White dismissed claims made by Hurley as "entirely baseless" and those by Sir Elton as "groundless", describing both as "unsupported by the evidence before the court".
The trial before Mr Justice Nicklin is scheduled to conclude in March, with a written judgment to follow at a later date.
