Key Figure in the Duke of Sussex Case Alleges Admission Was Fabricated
A inquiry agent at the heart of the legal action filed by Prince Harry and several claimants against the publisher of the Daily Mail has asserted his signature on an prior testimonial document was a “counterfeit”, the high court has heard.
The investigator, associated with the most severe allegations of unlawful information gathering made by multiple prominent individuals including the music icon and Doreen Lawrence, disavowed his purported statement, declaring it was “completely false”.
Context of the Purported Confession
The private eye had allegedly asserted in a 2021 witness statement that he and his team obtained data by hacking voicemails, monitoring landline phones and placing listening devices in automobiles. He also allegedly claimed he had operated on behalf of the Mail on Sunday.
The publishing group is alleged by the group of conducting or hiring for illicit operations such as engaging private investigators to position surveillance equipment inside vehicles, “blagging” confidential documents and intercepting confidential calls. The defendant disputes the allegations and is defending the legal action.
Withdrawal and New Allegations
Five of the plaintiffs have told the high court they commenced the legal action targeting the media group based on evidence apparently acquired by the investigator.
The witness had previously retracted his supposed statement in last year. In a fresh detailed witness statement made on 25 September 2025, and released by the high court on this week, he reaffirmed his denial, saying he had never carried out any unlawful act on behalf of the company.
In the new testimony, he asserted he did “not recognise” the “purported witness statement on 16 August 2021”. He said he believed it was “drafted by someone else”, that the autograph is not mine”, and did reject the truthfulness of a great deal of the contents”.
Burrows declared: “I am unfamiliar with the previous witness statement of 16 August 2021 and I think that my signature on that paper is a fake. Much of it is not composed in my type of language. Further, the contents of the statement are substantially inaccurate.”
He stated further that he had “never” done work for the Mail On Sunday or the daily tabloid, with the exception of one task involving Sir Richard Branson that excluded any illegal activity”.
Context of the Original Statement
Burrows said he was on powerful medication after a severe beating, and engaging in heavy drinking, when he was reached out to by Graham Johnson, a informant found guilty of voicemail interception, who desired assistance with research on allegations of interception targeting newspapers.
He was referred to a contact, an individual, who was referred to as a legal assistant and was remunerated a sum a time for advice.
His testimony indicated he was told lawsuits targeting newspapers were expected to resolve without trial, as the publications did not want the publicity or expense of a legal proceeding, and were referred to to him as a “flawless fraud” and a “lucrative opportunity”.
Burrows, who claimed he had ceased being employed for publications in that year, stated he had stated to Johnson “a hundred times that the company were not one of my customers”.
Current Legal Status
The witness was originally a testifier for the claimants, which also includes Sadie Frost and several individuals, but is now the subject of disputes about the possibility that he will be summoned as a testifier for the proceedings.
Antony White KC, for the publisher, asked the judge to allow him to interrogate the witness, while David Sherborne, for the claimants, made an petition to call his testimony as secondhand information.
The presiding officer granted Sherborne seven days to determine if he wished to apply for a court order to summon Burrows, and advised him if the witness provided evidence that was contradictory with the testimony they had gathered, then he could petition to treat him as “adverse”.
A subsequent pre-trial hearing in the legal action is projected to be held before the year’s conclusion.