🔗 Share this article

A private investigator integral to the lawsuit initiated by Prince Harry and several claimants against the publishing group of the popular tabloid has asserted his signature on an earlier witness statement was a “fake”, the superior court has heard.

The investigator, associated with the most severe accusations of unlawful intelligence gathering made by seven prominent individuals including Elton John and Doreen Lawrence, disavowed his supposed statement, stating it was “wholly fabricated”.

Context of the Purported Confession

Burrows had supposedly claimed in a testimonial from 2021 that he and his crew gathered information by breaching voice messages, tapping home telephones and placing listening devices in cars. He also allegedly claimed he had been employed on behalf of the Sunday publication.

The publishing group is charged by the plaintiffs of conducting or commissioning illegal acts such as engaging private investigators to install bugs inside vehicles, deceptively obtaining confidential documents and gaining entry to private phone conversations. The company disputes the allegations and is contesting the case.

Withdrawal and Fresh Allegations

Five of the plaintiffs have stated to the high court they commenced the legal action against the media group based on information seemingly gathered by the investigator.

The witness had previously withdrawn his purported testimony in 2023. In a recent lengthy witness statement made on a recent date, and disclosed by the court on this week, he restated his disavowal, stating he had never performed any unlawful act on behalf of the publishing group.

In the latest testimony, he asserted he did “fail to acknowledge” the alleged witness statement on 16 August 2021”. He stated he was of the opinion it was “prepared by others”, that the “signature is not mine”, and did reject the veracity of a great deal of the material”.

The investigator declared: “I do not recognise the previous testimony of 16 August 2021 and I believe that my signature on that statement is a forgery. Much of it is not composed in my type of language. Moreover, the substance of the statement are substantially false.”

He continued that he had “at no time” performed work for the Sunday paper or the Daily Mail, apart from one task concerning Sir Richard Branson that excluded any illegal activity”.

Circumstances of the Initial Testimony

Burrows said he was on heavy painkillers after a severe beating, and engaging in heavy drinking, when he was approached by a former journalist, a informant convicted of phone hacking, who sought support with investigation on phone-hacking claims against media outlets.

He was referred to a associate, an individual, who was referred to as a “paralegal” and was compensated a sum a time for guidance.

His statement claimed he was informed lawsuits against newspapers were expected to be resolved without trial, as the publications did not want the exposure or financial burden of a legal proceeding, and were described to him as a “ideal scheme” and a “lucrative opportunity”.

The investigator, who claimed he had ceased working for publications in 2003, stated he had informed Johnson on numerous occasions that the company were not one of my employers”.

Present Court Situation

Burrows was originally a testifier for the group, which features Elizabeth Hurley and several individuals, but is now the topic of debates about whether or not he will be summoned as a testifier for the trial.

A barrister, for the publisher, petitioned the court to permit him to cross-examine Burrows, while David Sherborne, for the claimants, made an petition to consider his testimony as secondhand information.

The judge allowed the barrister one week to choose whether he wished to apply for a court order to call Burrows, and informed him if Burrows provided evidence that was at odds with the evidence they had gathered, then he could request to regard him as “uncooperative”.

A subsequent preliminary proceeding in the legal action is anticipated to occur before the close of the calendar.