Liz Hurley Claims Hidden Mics on Windows in Privacy Trial
Elizabeth Hurley says private investigators bugged her phone and windows, exploiting her privacy in 15 Daily Mail articles, in a high court trial.
Elizabeth Hurley has claimed that private investigators working for the Daily Mail tapped her landline and placed microphones on her home windows to obtain stories, which she described as a "brutal invasion of privacy."
The actress became emotional on Thursday while giving evidence in the High Court in her case against the newspaper's publisher, much of which focused on articles written about her son, Damian.
She told the court that the alleged activity was "a completely different, shameful and infuriating level of intrusion."
She is one of seven high-profile claimants alleging "serious breaches of privacy" by Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL) over a 20-year period. The publisher has denied any wrongdoing.
Hurley's claim relates to 15 articles published between 2002 and 2011, which she says ANL "deliberately exploited my stolen information using their unlawful methods." Five of them concern Damian and his late father, film producer Steve Bing.
She alleges that the Mail also stole her medical information when she was pregnant with Damian, whom she calls "the centre of my world."
One story, published the day after Damian's birth in 2002, included details of Hurley's hospital stay. Other stories focused on payments made by Bing to Hurley and his refusal to see his son.
On Thursday, Hurley told the court: "I felt truly mortified that my son would one day be able to read all this, and I feel terrible that today is the day that all this is being rehashed."
"Once again, everyone's privacy is being invaded in this horrific way, and I feel very helpless about it." She said in her statement that she is also claiming damages for 10 other articles that were "written by journalists who were commissioning other private investigators to carry out similar unlawful activities."
When shown some of the articles related to her claim, she became emotional in court and wiped her eyes and nose with a tissue.
With tears in her eyes, she said it was "very upsetting" to read the statement of private investigator Gavin Burrows, who Hurley alleges admitted to "tapping and listening to all my conversations." Hurley told the court on Thursday that she learned about Burrows' statement just before Christmas in 2020. He has denied this and claims the signature on the document was forged.
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In her witness statement, Hurley said she was "completely devastated" by the discovery of the alleged phone tapping.
She said, "In my two previous battles with other newspapers, I had not faced such a brutal invasion of privacy."
"This wasn't just phone hacking... this was a completely different, humiliating and infuriating level of intrusion."
She became emotional as she finished giving her statement, saying it was "painful" for her to be in court.
She told her lawyer, "With respect, I don't want to be here," and said that talking about the past events was "very painful."
When asked in the witness box why she hadn't taken legal action against the publisher sooner, Hurley said it was because, as she recalled, "the complaints were for defamation" and the articles were "actually true."
She told the court, "I think it was because people were listening to me."
Anthony White KC, for ANL, suggested to her that there had been "leaks from your camp" that led to the stories, and she acknowledged that she had initially thought the same. But Hurley insisted that none of her close friends would speak to the press without her permission.
When asked about a 2001 story in Hello magazine, the barrister noted that two friends had been quoted talking about her.
She replied: "They would never say anything negative about me."
Another claimant, the Duke of Sussex, was seen entering the court, with a spokesperson saying he would be there "to offer support and show solidarity".
Those joining Hurley and Prince Harry in bringing the lawsuit against ANL include:
- Fellow actress Sadie Frost
- Sir Elton John and his husband David Furnish
- Sir Simon Hughes, former Liberal Democrat MP
- Baroness Doreen Lawrence, a campaigner whose son Stephen Lawrence was murdered in a racist attack in south London in 1993
The claimants allege that ANL engaged in the "clear, systematic and persistent use of unlawful information gathering" for stories between 1993 and "as late as" 2018, including through private investigators and blagging. ANL has previously denied the allegations of unlawful information gathering.
For the publisher, Mr. White said the claimants were "making wild allegations" and that the claims were brought too late.
Privacy cases typically must be filed within six years of the alleged infringement, unless the victim can prove they were unable to file the case at the time.
Mr. White argued that the reporters behind the stories had provided a "robust account of a pattern of legitimate sourcing for the articles," adding that in some cases, friends and social circles of the celebrities had provided information to journalists at the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday as sources.
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