Prince Harry, Elton John and more sue Daily Mail over alleged phone-tapping

London: Britain’s Prince Harry, singer Elton John and other individuals have launched legal action against the publisher of the Daily Mail newspaper, alleging phone-tapping and other breaches of privacy, a law firm for the group said.

Associated Newspapers, the publisher behind the Daily Mail, The Mail on Sunday and the Mail Online, refuted the allegations.

Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.Credit:Getty Images

The group includes the actresses Elizabeth Hurley and Sadie Frost, Elton John’s partner and filmmaker David Furnish, and Doreen Lawrence, the mother of black teenager Stephen Lawrence who was murdered in a racist attack in 1993.

The individuals are aware of evidence pointing to breaches of privacy by Associated Newspapers, including placing listening devices inside people’s cars and homes as well as commissioning the bugging of live, private telephone calls, law firm Hamlins said in a statement on Friday (London time).

Hamlins is representing Harry and Frost, while Lawrence, Hurley, John and Furnish are being represented by gunnercooke, the statement said.

Elton John performing in December 2019.Credit:Rick Clifford

An Associated Newspapers spokesperson said the publisher “utterly and unambiguously” refuted the “preposterous smears”.

“These unsubstantiated and highly defamatory claims – based on no credible evidence – appear to be simply a fishing expedition by claimants and their lawyers.”

Harry and his wife Meghan’s relations with Britain’s tabloid press collapsed after they got married in 2018. The couple have previously said they would have “zero engagement” with four major British papers, including the Daily Mail, accusing them of false and invasive coverage.

The couple also cited media intrusion as a major factor in their decision to step down from royal duties and move to the US.

Reuters

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