PA reporting from yesterday:
EDITOR TELLS HIGH COURT SIGNING INVOICES DOES NOT MEAN HE COMMISSIONED WORK
about:blank Nina Massey
By Nina Massey, Press Association Law Correspondent
740 words
11 March 2026
17:11
Press Association National Newswire
PRESSA
English
(c)2026, The Press Association, All Rights Reserved
The editor of the Mail on Sunday has told the High Court that just because he signed off on invoices, it does not mean he was involved in commissioning third parties to help with stories.
David Dillon gave evidence for a second day in the trial of claims brought by a group of household names, including the Duke of Sussex, against the publisher of the title and the Daily Mail, about:blank Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL).
ANL has strongly denied wrongdoing and is defending the claims brought by the group which also includes Sir Elton John, Sadie Frost and Baroness Doreen Lawrence.
On Wednesday, the journalist who has worked at the Sunday paper since 2001, told the court in London that in his role as news editor in 2007 and 2008 he was involved in signing off on payments.
Lawyers for the group of household names allege that he approved "many invoices for unlawful acts".
In his witness statement, Mr Dillon said: "Either weekly or fortnightly I was presented with a large stack of invoices to sign off, which would include contributor invoices, third party expenses and staff expenses.
"My signature on any given payment record doesn't mean that I was necessarily involved in the commissioning of third parties or approving the story itself.
"The reality was that I was juggling this task with a lot of other responsibilities and pressures on my time."
He added: "There was a careful balance to strike between supervising the reporters and scrutinising the payments they were making to third parties on the one hand, and on the other, allowing them to get on with their jobs and creating an environment where they felt trusted to do so."
In written submissions, David Sherborne, who is representing the household names which also include David Furnish, Liz Hurley and Sir Simon Hughes, alleged that Mr Dillon "directly" instructed private investigator Steve Whittamore who engaged in unlawful acts, and Christine Hart, "a well known blagger".
Mr Dillon said in his witness statement: "I remember Christine Hart as a hybrid journalist and investigator.
"She would assist reporters in investigating stories. She had a reputation as someone with a very good network of contacts and sources.
"I cannot remember any specific instance of working with her or of asking her to get information."
He continued: "I remember instructing Steve Whittamore in the early days of my career at the Mail on Sunday.
"He was well known across Fleet Street as someone who could provide addresses and ex-directory telephone numbers.
"We also asked Mr Whittamore for vehicle registration checks.
"As far as I can recall, we may also have asked Mr Whittamore to find out if a person had a criminal conviction.
"I don't know how Mr Whittamore would have found that out."
Mr Dillon added: "It didn't occur to me that someone so well known and widely used by all newspapers would be operating using illegal methods."
When shown articles that Harry and Hurley have complained about, Mr Dillon said he either had a vague recollection and did not know how the details came together, or that he did not remember the article.
The court also heard from Andrew Buckwell, who was a freelance journalist for the Mail on Sunday after 2002.
It is alleged that he used private investigators.
Mr Sherborne said: "He operated as a freelancer and operated London Media Press with Rick Hewett, which was found to have carried out unlawful information gathering and/or VMI (voicemail interception) against the Duke of Sussex in Sussex v about:blank Mirror Group Newspapers."
Mr Buckwell was bylined with Katie Nicholl on an article that Harry has complained about.
The article, about an intimate relationship between Harry and Laura Gerard Leigh, allegedly contained "the fruits of unlawful information gathering which amounted to a serious invasion of the Duke of Sussex's privacy for which Associated is liable".
In his witness statement, Mr Buckland said: "I positively remember that my own known and trusted source called me up after Laura Gerard Leigh's picture had been published in a newspaper a day or two before, which I now know to be The Sun and told me that he recognised her."
The trial before Mr Justice Nicklin is due to conclude in March with a written judgment expected at a later date.
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