Private investigator tells phone-hacking trial of threat to ‘destroy’ him

The Royal Courts of Justice in London: Prince Harry and more than 100 hundred other claimants are suing Mirror Group Newspapers. Photograph: Aaron Chown/PA

Press reform campaigners threatened to “destroy” a private investigator because he refused to help their campaign against newspaper groups, it has been alleged at the high court.

Paul Hawkes, a veteran private investigator, said claims that he hacked Hugh Grant’s emails on behalf of the Daily Mirror were “fantastical” and “made-up”. After being presented with a supposed invoice for the work, Hawkes mocked the idea he would have carried out such a serious act for such a small sum, telling the court: “You’re saying I got it hacked by a third party for £150? Come on!”