Names of 4 British Newspaper Editors Named in Prince Harry and Elton John's Lawsuit Against Daily Mail Publisher
Four editors of the British newspapers Sun, Times, Sunday Times and Mail on Sunday have been named in the High Court in the case of Prince Harry, Elton John and six other public figures against the publisher of the Daily Mail, in a privacy and phone hacking case.
The British publisher of the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday tabloids said on Thursday that it has filed a defence to Prince Harry's allegations of illegal information gathering. Associated Newspapers called the case filed by the Duke of Sussex in London's High Court "absurd".
As a reminder, Prince Harry accused the Mail of "hacking into my voicemail, tapping landlines, blagging, obtaining detailed phone bills, listening to phone conversations and obtaining private flight information of ex-girlfriend Chelsea Davy, among other criminal methods, all of which were deliberately undertaken for the purpose of publishing articles about me in the Defendant's newspapers because it made them money".
Prince Harry's legal team also alleged that the Daily Mail used journalists or search agents who have been shown in other court cases to have used illegal methods. Among his accusations, Harry accused the Mail of ruining his relationship with his ex-girlfriend Chelsea Davy, making him feel that she would be "intimidated to death".
In response, The Mail also issued a statement published by Newsweek, saying that "the publisher stands by its previous statements that the claims are absurd and unfounded, and says in its defence that the case brought by Prince and others is 'an insult to hard-working journalists whose reputation and integrity, and that of Associated itself, are being wrongly maligned'.
The newspaper insists that the stories in question, many of which were published 20 or more years ago and were not subject to any complaints at the time, were the product of responsible journalism based on legitimate sources."
A court hearing will be held later in May.