‘Nonsense’ says ex-Mail on Sunday editor over claim he knew private investigator was feeding newspaper information
A former Mail on Sunday editor has told the High Court that claims he knew a private investigator was supplying information to his newspaper were “absurd”.
Peter Wright, who served as the newspaper’s editor-in-chief between 1998 and 2012, was the last witness to testify in the case against the title’s publisher, Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL).
ANL has vehemently denied any wrongdoing and is defending allegations of unlawful doxxing by a group of public figures including the Duke of Sussex, Sir Elton John and Baroness Doreen Lawrence.
During cross-examination on Monday, Mr Wright was told by the group’s David Sherborne that he knew private investigator Gavin Burrows was “supplying information to the Mail on Sunday” through his colleague Paul Henderson, who worked in various roles at the Mail on Sunday and the Daily Mail between 1989 and 2005. Mr Wright replied: “No, that’s nonsense.”
In response to other allegations made against him, Mr Wright told the barrister: “Some things are just unbelievable. No, you’re wrong.”
In between his interrogations, Mr Sherbourne also asked Mr Wright about news conferences held during the alleged illegal collection of information. The barrister pressed for more details about how much the former Mail on Sunday editor knew about the stories pitched and commissioned.
At one point Mr Wright said: “Your question is ‘Did I know every detail of every phone call they made?’ The answer is no.”
But he told the hearing: “The question I often ask in our press conferences is: ‘How did this come to our attention?’” He added that if a story is controversial, he asks journalists about their sources, and sometimes objects to a story he believes contains inaccuracies.
When Mr. Sherbourne told him he was “trying to play a hands-on editor role,” Mr. Wright replied: “Correct.”
Mr Sherbourne also pressed Mr Wright about his claim that he knew nothing about the use of private detectives in the UK until the end of 2003.
The lawyer claimed to the journalist that the Mail on Sunday “spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on private detectives” between 1998 and the end of 2003. Mr Wright replied: “Yes, that’s your figure – but no, I wasn’t aware of it.”
Mr. Wright also argued that he did not see the news desk’s shared list of contacts until he began preparing for this hearing. “I had no idea there was a contact list,” he told the court. “I mean, they probably have one, but I’ve never seen it, never used it, never discussed it.”
The hearing before Mr Justice Nicklin is expected to conclude in March, with a written decision expected at a later date.
