David Furnish, the spouse of British musician Elton John, testified in London’s High Court that the Daily Mail’s publisher had unlawfully acquired information about them, including details allegedly obtained from their friend, Prince Harry. Furnish, a Canadian producer involved in a lawsuit with six others against Associated Newspapers, the publisher of the Daily Mail, claimed that the Mail publications had displayed homophobia towards their relationship.
Associated Newspapers refuted the accusations of illegal practices such as phone hacking made by Furnish, John, and the other claimants, asserting that the information in their articles was either publicly available or sourced legitimately from other media outlets, John’s website, or statements from his spokesperson. However, Furnish, testifying via video link, contended that the specifics in the Mail’s articles exceeded information from these sources.
Furnish, the sixth claimant to testify in the high-profile case, claimed that the Daily Mail had obtained information from Prince Harry without consent. The lawsuit, involving 10 articles published between 2002 and 2015, includes a 2007 piece in the Mail on Sunday concerning a concert commemorating the 10th anniversary of Princess Diana’s passing. Prince Harry noted in his statement that he believed he and John might have exchanged voicemails about the concert, while the Mail’s legal team argued that the information originated from credible royal sources.
In his written testimony, Furnish alleged that their home’s landlines had been compromised and accused the Daily Mail of being complicit in obtaining information through their connections with Elizabeth Hurley and Prince Harry. He expressed Elton John’s admiration for Prince Harry and criticized the Mail for publishing judgmental and close-minded stories about them. Furnish also mentioned a 2010 article regarding surrogacy, stating that the Mail acquired their son’s birth certificate before they had the chance to see it, which he found deeply troubling.
The ongoing legal dispute has shed light on the privacy violations claimed by Furnish, John, and their co-claimants against the Daily Mail, with Prince Harry settling a separate lawsuit against Rupert Murdoch’s News Group Newspapers in 2025 for damages and an apology related to privacy breaches.