David Furnish, the spouse of British singer Elton John, testified in London’s High Court that the Daily Mail publisher had acquired information about them unlawfully, including details allegedly taken from their friend, Prince Harry. Furnish, a Canadian producer and one of the seven claimants in the lawsuit against Associated Newspapers, accused the Mail of being “actively homophobic” towards their relationship.
Associated Newspapers refuted the claims of phone hacking and other illicit activities made by Furnish, John, and the other claimants, asserting that the information reported in 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 other media sources, John’s official website, or statements from his spokesperson.
During his testimony via video link, Furnish emphasized that the details in the Mail articles were notably specific. He became the sixth claimant to provide evidence in the high-profile case, following Prince Harry, actors Elizabeth Hurley and Sadie Frost, former lawmaker Simon Hughes, and anti-racism campaigner Doreen Lawrence. Elton John is scheduled to testify on Friday.
The lawsuit brought by Furnish and John pertains to ten articles published between 2002 and 2015, including a 2007 piece in the Mail on Sunday concerning a concert commemorating the 10th anniversary of Princess Diana’s tragic death. Prince Harry mentioned in his witness statement that he believed he and John may have exchanged voicemails regarding the concert, while the Mail’s legal team claimed the information was sourced from well-connected royal figures.
Furnish stated in his written evidence that he and John suspected their home’s landlines were tapped and accused the Mail of being complicit in “the theft of our information through our connections with Elizabeth Hurley and Prince Harry.” He expressed Elton’s admiration for Prince Harry and criticized the Mail for publishing “judgmental and close-minded stories” about them.
Moreover, Furnish highlighted an incident involving a 2010 article on him and John having a child through surrogacy, revealing that the Mail obtained their son’s birth certificate before they did, which he found deeply troubling. He condemned the Mail for exploiting their friendships by illicitly obtaining information through them, lamenting the violation of their family home 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 unlawful intrusion into his private life by The Sun tabloid and the now-defunct News of the World.