A private investigator who allegedly harvested confidential information for the publisher of the Mail used to boast he could get hold of Queen Elizabeth II’s medical records, the High Court has heard.
Jonathan Rees, who operated Southern Investigations, took part in phone tapping, computer and phone hacking, bribing police officers and a “whole range of other unlawful activities”, it has been alleged.
The Duke of Sussex, Sir Elton John, his husband David Furnish, campaigner Baroness Doreen Lawrence, politician Sir Simon Hughes, and actresses Sadie Frost and Liz Hurley are taking legal action against Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL) over alleged unlawful information gathering.
On the first day of the trial in London, barrister David Sherborne, for the duke and others, shared evidence from former Metropolitan Police officer Derek Haslam, who infiltrated Southern Investigations as an undercover operative, who alleged Mr Rees liked to boast about the information he could access.
This included claiming he could get hold of the medical records belonging to the late Queen – Harry’s grandmother, the court heard.
Mr Sherborne said: “Rees liked to boast about the information he could get. ‘We can get the Queen’s medical records’, he once said.”
Mr Haslam, in written evidence, claimed that Mr Rees would “disturbingly” also boast about accessing the Police Witness Protection Scheme, and that “nothing in terms of private information was beyond their reach using illegal means”.
He also said Mr Rees was “obsessed with the Stephen Lawrence murder”.
Mr Sherborne told the court that Mr Rees asked contacts in the Metropolitan Police for “filth” on Stephen Lawrence’s mother Baroness Doreen Lawrence and that he wanted to blackmail her for information.
Mr Rees would also “hold court” in a pub with police officers looking to make extra money by offering information, Mr Sherborne said.
ANL “vehemently” denies the allegations.
In written submissions, Antony White KC said the allegation that Mr Rees targeted Lady Lawrence was “unfounded”.
He said that in response to the peer’s claim, ANL searched for but found no payment records to Mr Rees, Southern Investigations “or any of their entities”.
He also said that Stephen Wright, who was bylined on each of the stories about Lady Lawrence in the claim “categorically denies ever having met or spoken to Mr Rees, nor has he ever commissioned Mr Rees or his company to carry out any investigations or other acts, legal or illegal”.
Mr White later said that Mr Haslam “is unable to recall a single specific story Mr Rees worked on or sold to the Mail”.
The barrister continued that several of the claims against ANL depend on “alleged confessions supposedly made” by some private investigators, including Mr Rees.
