Prince Harry’s case against the Daily Mail publisher, Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL), has taken an unexpected turn, as a key witness denies signing a witness statement.
The Duke of Sussex and several other claimants, including Elton John, Liz Hurley and Baroness Doreen Lawrence, are suing the publishers of the Daily Mail over the unlawful gathering of information.
In a huge blow to Harry’s case, the key witness Gavin Burrows has denied signing a statement where he admitted to being a part of an unlawful information gathering for the Mail on Sunday.
What Did Gavin Burrows Say About His Allegedly False 2021 Witness Statement
In 2021, Gavin Burrows reportedly signed off on a statement where he claimed that he and his team had indeed unlawfully gathered information for the Mail on Sunday, which is published by ANL.
The methods they used for the information gathering was said to have included hacking voicemails, tapping landline phones and bugging cars.
Amongst the most serious accusations against the ANL is that they paid journalists and private investigators to bug the car of famous people, as well as deceptively acquire private records and access phone conversations.
As the key witness in the case, Harry and four other prominent claimants, relied heavily on Burrows’ statement to build their case. In 2023, Burrows retracted his statement.
A fresh 30-page witness statement made on 25 September 2025, and released by the high court on Tuesday, also saw him reiterate his previous stance that he did not engage in any unlawful activities for ANL.
He reportedly told the court that the statement he allegedly signed was not written in his “type of language.” In addition to this, he categorically called a large chunk of the witness statement false, insisting that it was “prepared by others.”
“I do not recognise the earlier witness statement of 16 August 2021 and I believe that my signature on that document is a forgery. A lot of it is not written in my type of language. Further, the contents of the statement are substantially untrue,” he said.
He added that he only ever did one job for ANL, and that whilst involving Sir Richard Branson, no illegal activities were engaged in for the entire duration of the job.
Be sure to catch up on everything happening with The Royal Family right now. Come back here often for all The Royal Family spoilers, news, and updates.