David Furnish, the spouse of renowned British singer Elton John, testified in London’s High Court on Thursday, alleging that the Daily Mail publisher had acquired information about them through unlawful means, including data allegedly stolen from their acquaintance, Prince Harry. Furnish, a Canadian producer involved in a lawsuit with six other claimants against Associated Newspapers, the publisher of Daily Mail, highlighted in his statement that the Mail publications had exhibited bias against their relationship, being notably “actively homophobic.”
Associated Newspapers has refuted the accusations of phone hacking and other illicit activities made by Furnish, John, and the other claimants, asserting that the information reported by their newspapers was either already public knowledge or obtained from legitimate sources. The publisher’s legal representative, Catrin Evans, suggested that the information in question might have originated from various media outlets, John’s official website, or statements from his spokesperson. However, Furnish, speaking via video link, emphasized that the details presented in the Mail articles were considerably more specific.
Furnish became the sixth claimant to provide evidence in the high-profile legal dispute, following testimonies from Prince Harry, actors Elizabeth Hurley and Sadie Frost, former lawmaker Simon Hughes, and anti-racism campaigner Doreen Lawrence. Elton John is scheduled to present his testimony on Friday.
The lawsuit brought forth by Furnish and John pertains to ten articles published between 2002 and 2015, including a piece from 2007 in the Mail on Sunday regarding a commemorative concert for the late Princess Diana, Harry’s mother, who tragically passed away in a car accident in 1997. Harry, in his witness statement, presumed that he and John might have exchanged voicemails concerning the concert, whereas the Mail’s legal team contends that the information was sourced from credible royal contacts.
Furnish alleged in his written declaration that their home’s landlines had been subjected to surveillance and that the Daily Mail was complicit in obtaining their information through their connections with Elizabeth Hurley and Prince Harry. He expressed Elton’s deep admiration for Prince Harry and criticized the Daily Mail for consistently publishing judgmental and narrow-minded narratives about them.
Moreover, Furnish disclosed that the Mail had obtained their son’s birth certificate before they had a chance to review it themselves, describing the incident as profoundly unsettling. He condemned the publication for exploiting their relationships to pilfer sensitive information, lamenting the violation of their family’s privacy and the unauthorized access to Elton’s medical records.
In a separate legal development, Prince Harry settled a lawsuit in 2025 against Rupert Murdoch’s News Group Newspapers, receiving undisclosed damages and an apology for the intrusive tactics utilized by The Sun tabloid and the now-defunct News of the World in violating his privacy.
