Private investigator in Prince Harry case says admissions in his name ‘a pack of lies’ | Daily Mail

A private investigator whose controversial admissions to illegal activity formed a key part of the case brought by Prince Harry and others against the Daily Mail publisher has said the confessions were “fiction”.

Giving the much-anticipated evidence at the high court, Gavin Burrows said the plaintiffs in the case and their lawyers had been “very misled” about his work, adding that the alleged confessions made on his behalf were “a pack of lies”.

Burrows, who agreed to testify only from a secret location abroad, said he believed his signature was based on a witness statement outlining a sweeping criminal allegation.

Doreen Lawrence, Prince Harry and Elton John are among seven people who are suing Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL) for allegedly collecting illegal information.

The court had already heard allegations that Burrows had tapped into celebrities’ windowsills and hacked into information on people close to them, such as John’s gardener. Prince Harry also claimed that Burrows tapped and hacked a friend’s phone.

In his witness statement in August 2021, Burrows admitted to wiretapping, wiretapping and a number of other illegal activities, apparently on behalf of ANL. The broadcaster strongly denies the allegations and calls them appalling and implausible.

Burrows later stated that he was still with him and said that he had never done any illegal activity for the broadcaster or been asked to do so. He now claims that the signature on his original confession was forged.

Burrows, who finally appeared in court after months of legal wrangling over his evidence, has repeatedly said he never wrote or signed the original disputed witness statement.

“I did not write the declaration, I do not recognize anything in the declaration,” Burrows said. “You could say it’s not even a real signature. I’d say it’s fake and it’s being tracked.”

“It wasn’t until a year and a half later that I read my statement in the newspaper… A kind of theater had been built around me.”

The plaintiffs’ lead attorney, David Sherborne, successfully requested to examine Burrows as a hostile witness while making allegations of fraud.

Burrows claimed the statement was orchestrated by Graham Johnson, a former phone hacker who turned to investigating illegal activity in the press, who later joined the plaintiffs’ investigative team in the ANL case.

He said he only worked with Johnson because he thought he was being used for “expert opinion.” The court heard he had already been paid £75,000 from Johnson, including for work on a memoir.

Burrows said the controversial confession included a series of confessions that included everything “except calling me Jack the Ripper”. He asked Sherborne: “Do you really believe anyone will write a statement? [like that]?”

“Your little creator who created this has gone too far,” he said, referring to Johnson. “I believe he is deceiving you, Mr. Sherborne.”

In written submissions, the plaintiffs’ legal team said it was impossible for Burrows’ signature on the 2021 affidavit to be forged, adding that it was a “wild and unfounded” claim.

In court, Burrows said he thought he had been “good and kind” to Lady Lawrence when he contacted ANL in 2023 to say he had not confessed. “I thought I saved Baroness Lawrence from being defrauded. I think things escalated,” he said.

Burrows also continued to question the validity of his signatures on other documents in other cases related to the newspapers’ illegal activities.

At one point, Burrows said he became “angry” at some of his conversations with Johnson, noting that the investigator repeatedly asked him questions about any work he had done for ANL. He claimed Johnson later added the “joke” as evidence.

What was previously dubbed in court as the “Burrows conundrum” hung over the entire three-month, multimillion-pound trial.

Sherborne said Burrows was happy with his original evidence until he fell out with Johnson over money in 2022. “You decided to switch sides to take revenge on Mr Johnson,” Sherborne said.

Sherborne said the witness’s evidence in 2021 was “entirely consistent and accurate that you were acting for Associated Newspapers”.

Burrows denied Sherborne’s allegations.

Sherborne also said Burrows was also helped by ANL’s legal finances. Burrows said he did not receive the money directly.

The case continues.