Celebrities are often lonely and confide in journalists, according to former Mail on Sunday editor Peter Wright who saidPrince Harry’saccusations of illegal newsgathering at the paper are false.
Along with other high-profile claimants, Harry has claimed theMail on Sundayengaged in widespread use of phone hacking, tapping and illegal bugging as well as commissioning detectives to obtain private information like phone and medical records. The claims are the subject of an ongoing privacy trial.
Wright, who was Mail on Sunday editor from 1998 to 2012 and is now editor emeritus at publisher Associated Newspapers, said in his witness statement: “Journalists have a very wide variety of sources of information, including one-off tips, regular freelancers, and well-connected individuals with whom the journalist may have spent years building a trusted relationship.
“In the political, Royal and showbiz worlds, for example, journalists would spend many of their evenings at social events meeting and cultivating these existing and potential sources.
“This is particularly true on Sunday newspapers, where the journalists’ week is not dictated by the breaking news agenda, and the greater time available is used to cultivate contacts in order to develop exclusive stories which can be kept under wraps until Sunday.
“Included in these contacts would be the numerous cronies and hangers-on who, like moths to a flame, are drawn to the social circles of celebrities and royal figures, all too ready to ‘big themselves up’ and bask in reflected glory (or even earn some money) by passing information to journalists.
“Such tipsters are part of the lifeblood of Sunday newspapers, particularly their diary columns.
“So, for example, the Duke of Sussex, like any Royal, was surrounded by a large number of staff, friends and hangers-on, many of whom briefed journalists, either directly, or by speaking indiscreetly to third parties who had their own contacts with journalists.
“When an article quoted a ‘royal insider’ or a ‘palace source’ it was not a cover for so-called unlawful information gathering, but a simple statement of fact. I know that because at various points in my career I had just such royal sources myself and would share information they had given me with reporters, who would in turn attribute it to ‘a source’.”
He added there was another source of stories: celebrities themselves.
Source: Press Gazette
