Prince Harry has spent years taking on the tabloids.
That fight followed him to California after he and Meghan Markle left royal life. Now, a new twist has hit, adding fresh uncertainty to a case Harry filed back in 2019 against British tabloids to challenge what he says were serious invasions of his privacy. Those invasions included alleged phone tapping, voicemail hacking, blagging, and digging into the lives of people close to him.
The private investigator at the center of Harry’s allegations has flipped his story now, leaving the court trying to figure out what to trust and what evidence can move forward.
A private investigator has claimed his previous witness document was forged in Prince Harry’s lawsuit
At the High Court in London, private investigator Gavin Burrows told the judge that a 2021 witness document was “prepared by others without my knowledge.” He withdrew his alleged confession in 2023. He now rejects the entire statement, saying the signature, wording, and claims about illegal activity while he worked at Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL) are false. PEOPLE obtained his new 30-page statement, which he signed on September 25, and the court released on November 11.
Harry is one of seven people accusing ANL of long running privacy breaches. The BBC reported that Elton John, David Furnish, and Elizabeth Hurley also joined the case. ANL denied the accusations and described them as “lurid” and “preposterous.”
Burrows said his earlier confession was “completely false.” In his statement to ANL’s lawyers he said, “I do not [recognize] the earlier witness statement of August 16, 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.” He added, “Further, the contents of the statement are substantially untrue.”
Burrows also said he never handled illegal work for the Mail on Sunday or the Daily Mail. He explained that his only job for ANL involved Sir Richard Branson and “did not involve any illegal activity.” That claim conflicts with his disputed 2021 statement.
Harry’s lawyer wants the judge to treat Burrows’ new claim as hearsay
Lawyer David Sherborne, who represents Harry and the other claimants, pushed back. He told the court the new statement was “scurrilous” and “a grotesque inclusion which is meant to be an attack on parts of the legal team.”
The judge replied, “This is open justice, Mr. Sherborne.” Several claimant filings relied on Burrows’ earlier claims. Harry also addressed the matter and wrote, “I learnt from my solicitors that some private investigators had come forward … Gavin Burrows admitted to targeting me and those close to me …”
The court will decide whether Burrows will testify when the trial begins in January 2026. Sherborne asked the judge to treat his evidence as hearsay. An ANL lawyer wants a chance to cross examine him. Another pre trial hearing will take place later in 2025. Harry filed this lawsuit in 2019 and attended the first hearing when proceedings opened in March 2023.
TELL US – DO YOU THINK BURROWS’ CONFESSION WAS FORGED? WILL THIS COMPLICATE HARRY’S CASE?
