Evidence at the centre of breach of privacy claims against the publisher of the Daily Mail is centred on an alleged confession and denial by a private investigator over his role in unlawful information gathering.
Two differing witness statements from Gavin Burrows have been released amid a bid by Associated Newspapers to have legal action against it thrown out by a High Court judge.
Addressing claims brought by the Duke of Sussex, Sir Elton John and others, the publisher said it rejected “in their entirety” that they were victims of unlawful or illegal information gathering carried out on its behalf.
In one statement, signed in August 2021, Mr Burrows claimed to have targeted “hundreds, possibly thousands of people” through voicemail hacking, landline tapping and accessing financial and medical information for a journalist at the Mail on Sunday.
He claimed that Prince Harry, Sir Elton and his husband David Furnish, and actor Hugh Grant and actresses Liz Hurley and Sadie Frost “were just a small handful of my targets”.
But in a later statement signed in March this year, Mr Burrows said he wished “to make clear that I was never instructed or commissioned by [a journalist] or anyone at the Mail on Sunday or the Daily Mail to conduct unlawful information gathering on their behalf”.
In the more recent statement he said he was not commissioned to unlawfully gather information on Prince Harry, Sir Elton, Mr Furnish, Frost or Hurley.
Prince Harry and Meghan Duchess of Sussex through the years - in pictures
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Doria Ragland, Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, attend the Ms Foundation Women of Vision Awards in New York City. Getty -
Prince Harry and his wife Meghan attend a basketball game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Memphis Grizzlies in Los Angeles in April. Getty -
The royal couple speak onstage at the Robert F Kennedy Human Rights Ripple of Hope Gala in New York in December 2022. Getty -
Prince Harry and Meghan watch as the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II is placed into the hearse following the state funeral service at Westminster Abbey in central London in September 2022. AP -
Prince Harry and Meghan pay their respects at the Palace of Westminster. Getty -
Prince Harry, Meghan and Kate, Princess of Wales, attend a service for the reception of Queen Elizabeth's coffin at Westminster Hall. AFP -
The Princess of Wales, Prince William, Prince Harry and Meghan meet members of the public outside Windsor Castle. Getty -
Prince Harry and Meghan leave after a service of thanksgiving for the queen. Getty -
Prince Harry and Meghan at the National September 11 Memorial and Museum in New York in September 2021. AP -
Prince Harry and Meghan on the cover of Time magazine's 100 most influential people in the world edition, in September 2021. Reuters -
Prince Harry and Meghan are interviewed by Oprah Winfrey in March 2021. Reuters -
Prince Harry and Meghan shared this image on social media in February 2021 to announce they were expecting their second child. AFP -
Prince Harry and Meghan visit Canada House, London, in January 2020. Getty -
Prince Harry and Meghan visit Auwal Mosque on Heritage Day during their royal tour of South Africa in September 2019. Getty -
Prince Harry, Meghan and their son Archie Mountbatten-Windsor in South Africa in September 2019. Getty -
Prince Harry and Meghan meet Beyonce Knowles-Carter and Jay-Z at the European Premiere of Disney's The Lion King at Odeon Luxe Leicester Square, London, in July 2019. Getty -
Prince Harry and Meghan pose for a photo with the New York Yankees before their baseball game against the Boston Red Sox at London Stadium in June 2019. Getty -
Prince Harry and Meghan pose with their newborn son Archie in St George's Hall at Windsor Castle in May 2019. Getty -
Meghan, joined by her mother Ms Ragland, shows her new son to Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip at Windsor Castle in May 2019. AP -
Prince Harry and Meghan officially open Number 7, a Feeding Birkenhead citizen’s supermarket and community cafe in Merseyside in January 2019. Getty -
Prince William, the Princess of Wales, Meghan and Prince Harry attend a Christmas Day church service at the Church of St Mary Magdalene on the Sandringham estate in December 2018. Getty -
Prince William, Prince Harry, Meghan and the Duchess of Cambridge attend a service marking the centenary of the First World War armistice at Westminster Abbey in November 2018. Getty -
Prince Harry and Meghan visit Redwoods Tree Walk in October 2018 in Rotorua, New Zealand. Getty -
Prince Harry and Meghan visit an exhibition of Tongan handicrafts at the Fa'onelua Convention Centre in October 2018 in Nuku'alofa, Tonga. Getty -
Prince Harry and Meghan visit the University of the South Pacific in October 2018 in Suva, Fiji. Getty -
Prince Harry and Meghan address the public during a Community Event at Victoria Park in October 2018 in Dubbo, Australia. Getty -
Prince Harry and Meghan meet a koala during a visit to Taronga Zoo in October 2018 in Sydney, Australia. Getty -
Prince Harry and Meghan arrive at the University of Chichester's Engineering and Digital Technology Park during an official visit to West Sussex in October 2018. Getty -
The queen, Meghan, Prince Harry, Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge watch the RAF 100th anniversary fly-past from the balcony of Buckingham Palace in July 2018. Getty -
Prince Harry and Meghan on their wedding day in May 2018. Getty -
Prince Harry places a wedding ring on his new wife's finger. Getty -
Meghan and Prince Harry head to their evening wedding reception at Frogmore House. Getty -
Prince Harry and Meghan walk through the corridors of the Palace of Holyroodhouse on their way to a reception for young people at the Palace in February 2018 in Edinburgh, Scotland. Getty -
Prince Harry and his then-fiancee Meghan visit Nottingham for their first official public engagement together in December 2017. Getty
Mr Burrows also said allegations that he was asked to target Grant, Carole Middleton — the mother of the Princess of Wales — former London mayor Ken Livingstone and Labour peer Lord Mandelson were “false”.
In his August 2021 statement, Mr Burrows said he and his team had previously carried out “some pretty big blags and hacks” but that he had since “legitimised my work”.
He claimed to have “bugged” the cars of Grant and Mrs Middleton, “hacked, tapped, and bugged” Hurley “a huge number of times” and “hardwire tapped” Sir Elton and Mr Furnish’s house.
Mr Burrows said Prince Harry was “another big target”, with a strategy to hack the voicemails of his friends.
He said he wanted “to say sorry to everyone I targeted and for them to know I never meant any harm”.
