The tabloid was accused of installing “bugs” in cars and houses, wiretapping phones, obtaining medical and banking data

Several British celebrities and members of the British Royal Family including Prince Harrysinger Elton John and his wife, actress Elizabeth Hurley, sued the publisher of the tabloid The Daily Mail, Associated Newspapers. About it according to Forbes USA with reference to the plaintiffs’ statement.

According to Forbes USA, they accuse the publisher of The Daily Mail of invading privacy, claiming that the company illegally accessed information about their bank accounts and tapped their phone calls, among other things. In a press release about the lawsuit, the group of plaintiffs, which also included activist and Baroness Doreen Lawrence and actress Sadie Frost, said “they were victims of heinous criminal activity and gross violations of confidentiality by Associated Newspapers.”

The plaintiffs allege that Associated Newspapers employees, through “illegal means and manipulation,” hired private detectives to install listening devices in their cars and homes and specialists to record their telephone conversations, paid police officers for private information, posed as their loved ones to obtain medical data and access to bank account information.

“We have come together to uncover the truth and hold journalists accountable, many of whom still hold high leadership positions,” the celebrity said in a joint statement.

As Forbes USA notes, what evidence the plaintiffs have in support of their accusations is still unknown. However, it is reported that on October 6, at least three lawsuits were filed against Associated Newspapers for “misuse of private information.”

“We completely reject these absurd slanderous allegations, which appear to be nothing more than a pre-planned and orchestrated attempt to drag our publications into a phone hacking scandal involving articles up to 30 years old. These unsubstantiated and highly defamatory claims are not based on credible evidence,” a spokesman for Associated Newspapers told Forbes USA.

Associated Newspapers publishes British tabloids The Daily Mail, Mail On Sunday and Mail Online. Earlier, Prince Harry won a lawsuit against the Mail on Sunday – the court found that the newspaper’s article about his disagreements with the government because of the work of his security service was libelous. The material, the Duke of Sussex claimed at the time, caused “serious damage to his reputation and caused him substantial harm and suffering, which continues to this day.”