Prince Harry’s legal team has summoned a private investigator accused of assault to appear in court.
The Duke of Sussex’s lawyers have issued a notice to private investigator Gavin Burrows to testify in Harry’s case against Associated Newspapers Limited.
The order came despite Burrows claiming his previous testimony was fabricated and his signature forged.
A pre-trial hearing confirmed he received the summons by post and email, and he’s required to appear as a witness for Harry and six others when the trial begins in January.
Earlier statements of the detective were considered as key in convincing Baroness Doreen Lawrence to join the lawsuit, which involves claims of phone tapping, surveillance, and other illegal ways of gathering information.
Judges were informed of major allegations against Burrows in connection with Graham Johnson, who works for Prince Harry’s legal team at £160 an hour.
Johnson, a former tabloid journalist with a phone-hacking conviction, was allegedly contacted twice in March 2022 by Burrows with threatening calls over a payment dispute.
The detective’s signed testimony had claimed the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday hired him to hack phones and install surveillance in celebrities’ cars.
He later denied the allegations, saying his statement was false and his signature forged. During Wednesday’s hearing, David Sherborne, representing Prince Harry and other claimants, sought to protect a witness known as ‘Berlin,’ who holds key evidence of Burrows’ alleged illegal information gathering for Associated.
