The "cash for witnesses" all sounds really dubious - it seems clear they were paying money to produce the "right" results. As Evan Harris put it last week: "no tickee, no monkee."
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Max Mosley provided tens of thousands of pounds to pay future witnesses ahead of Prince Harry’s privacy claim and wanted to “beef up the propaganda” against the publisher of the Daily Mail, the High Court has heard.
Graham Johnson, a former tabloid journalist, used the money to make regular payments to an array of private investigators accused of unlawful activity, several of whom are now at the heart of the current litigation.
The Duke of Sussex, Baroness Lawrence and Sir Elton John are among seven claimants suing Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL) for breach of privacy, alleging phone hacking, bugging and blagging.
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The publisher refutes the “preposterous” claims and has alleged that “purported evidence” had been “obtained through financial inducements and threats”.
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Prince Harry, arriving at the Royal Courts of Justice last month, has brought a privacy claim against the publisher of the Daily Mail Credit: Peter Nicholls/Getty
One private investigator, Gavin Burrows, was paid £75,000, while convicted phone hackers Glenn Mulcaire and Greg Miskiw were paid £22,320 and £12,650 respectively, the court heard.
US-based private investigator Daniel Portley-Hanks was paid £6,000, plus additional sums of up to £290 ($400) a day for his “time”, while private investigators Steve Whittamore and Christine Hart were paid at least £9,000 between them.
The court heard that, separately, a company set up by Mosley gave a £565,000 business loan to Mr Johnson’s Yellow Press publishing company, which promised lucrative book deals to several private investigators.
Mr Johnson, who worked for the Sunday Mirror and the News of the World, received a suspended sentence for one count of phone hacking in 2014 and is now a key member of the claimants’ “legal research team”, having acquired various admissions, affidavits and evidential material from his contacts.