Prince Harry, Elton John and Elizabeth Hurley are leading a charge of celebrities and other individuals who have launched legal action against the publisher of the British Daily Mail newspaper over alleged phone-tapping and other breaches of privacy.
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, who publish the Daily Mail newspaper, Mail on Sunday and Mail online.
The evidence gathered includes recovered listening devices that were placed inside people’s cars and homes as well as commissioning the bugging of live, private telephone calls, law firm Hamlins said in a statement.
Prince Harry is just one of the celebrities in question who have a turbulent past with the British tabloids, with Harry and Meghan previously saying 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.
Associated Newspapers have refuted any and all allegations against illegal phone-tapping, as a spokesperson said the publisher “utterly and unambiguously” refuted the “preposterous smears”.
They said, “These unsubstantiated and highly defamatory claims – based on no credible evidence – appear to be simply a fishing expedition by claimants and their lawyers.”
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This article first appeared on OverSixty.