Prince Harry, Elton John and others accuse Daily Mail of phone-tapping – law firm

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 on Thursday.

Associated Newspapers, the publisher behind the Daily Mail, The Mail on Sunday and the Mail Online, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

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.

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

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 United States.