Prince Harry’s team ‘sent a de@th threat’ to private investigator, court hears

Gavin Burrows is a key witness in Prince Harry’s ongoing legal case against Associated Newspapers Limited, the publisher of the Daily Mail, at the High Court

Aprivate investigator involved in Prince Harry’s ongoing privacy case has claimed he was sent a “de@th threat” by a member of the Duke of Sussex’s team, a court has heard.

Gavin Burrows claimed he received a legal threat from Harry’s legal researcher, Graham Johnson, a convicted phone hacker and former journalist, and provided a recording of a voice message. He is a key witness in the Prince’s ongoing case against Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL), the publisher of the Daily Mail, and is scheduled to give evidence next week via video link.

However, another legal researcher, Dan Waddell, claimed on the contrary that the voice on the recording was “that of Gavin Burrows himself”. Burrows is currently abroad and has refused to disclose his location to the Duke’s lawyers. In response, David Sherborne, who is representing Prince Harry, alleged that Mr Burrows was holding the court “to ransom” and should not be allowed to give evidence. Sherborne added that Mr Burrows’s safety fears were “utterly spurious”.

Antony White KC, for ANL, said there was “no dispute” that the evidence was important and asserted that it should be allowed to go ahead as planned. In November, Burrows made headlines when he said his signature on an earlier witness statement was the work of “forgery” and it was “completely false”. The 2021 statement included an alleged confession of hacking by Burrows and had been considered a key piece of evidence in the trial.

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Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex departs The Royal Courts of Justice after attending day 3 of a court case against Associated Newspapers Ltd on January 21, 2026

Prince Harry’s case at the High Court

Prince Harry, Sir Elton John, his husband David Furnish, campaigner Baroness Doreen Lawrence, politician Sir Simon Hughes and actresses Sadie Frost and Elizabeth Hurley are all taking action against Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL).

The group claims that the publisher carried out or commissioned unlawful activities such as hiring private investigators to place listening devices inside cars, “blagging” private records and accessing private phone conversations. ANL, which also publishes the Mail on Sunday, has vehemently denied the allegations.

The trial began on 19 January and is expected to last nine weeks in total. On 21 January, Harry took to the stands to give evidence and claimed the newspaper had made his “wife’s  (Meghan Markle) life an absolute misery”. Harry, 41, spent around two-and-a-half hours answering questions from ANL’s barrister, before he was asked how the proceedings had made him feel by his barrister David Sherborne.

The Duke, who was dressed in a blue suit and a striped tie, said: “It’s fundamentally wrong to put us through this again when all we wanted was an apology and accountability. It’s a horrible experience.” Sounding emotional and appearing to be on the verge of tears, he continued: “They continue to come after me, they have made my wife’s life an absolute misery my Lord.”