Steven Barnett, Professor of Communications at the University of Westminster, spoke to ABC News Australia about the lawsuit brought by Prince Harry, Elton John and other prominent figures against Associated Newspapers, publisher of the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers, for alleged phone-tapping and other breaches of privacy.
Speaking to ABC News Australia, Steven said: “These claims go a lot further ]than the original phone-hacking claims that led to the Leveson Inquiry in 2011] … we’re not just talking about phone-hacking, i.e. listening to messages, but phone-tapping i.e. listening to live conversations. There are allegations that cars were bugged, that police officers were bribed… and that homes were burgled. Perhaps most damagingly, that confidential medical and financial records were illegally accessed or blagged by private investigators… these are really serious allegations.”
Referring in particular to the allegations raised by Baroness Lawrence of Clarendon, the mother of murdered teenager Stephen Lawrence, Professor Barnett said: “She says that she was followed, that her movements where monitored, that her bank accounts and other confidential records were monitored over a period of getting on for 20 years, while the (Daily) Mail was purporting to act on her behalf… She says that she now [believes] that the Daily Mail’s true interests were about self-promotion, and using her and her son’s murder as a means to generate exclusive headlines, sell newspapers and for profit… It’s important to say throughout this that the Mail [newspapers] vigorously deny any of these allegations.”
Talking about what will happen next, Professor Barnett said: “The judge will decide whether this will go to a full trial. What we’re talking about here is pre-trial arguments: the Mail [newspapers] trying to have the case thrown out without a trial, and the claimants saying this really needs to go to a full trial where a judge can hear the evidence and make a finding as to whether these allegations are true.”
Watch Professor Barnett’s full interview with ABC News Australia on YouTube.
