Harry says he did not complain about articles ‘because of institution I was in’

The Duke of Sussex has told a court he was unable to complain about the publisher of the Daily Mail “because of the institution I was in”.

In his witness statement for the trial, Harry said he has always had an “uneasy relationship” with the press, adding: “However, as a member of the institution the policy was to ‘never complain, never explain’.

The duke, Sir Elton John and his husband David Furnish, campaigner Baroness Doreen Lawrence, politician Sir Simon Hughes, and actresses Sadie Frost and Liz Hurley are all bringing legal action against Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL) over allegations of unlawful information gathering.

This includes claims that information for articles was obtained by carrying out or commissioning unlawful activities such as phone tapping and “blagging” private records.

ANL has strongly denied wrongdoing and is defending the claims.

Speaking from the witness box at the High Court in London on Wednesday Harry told the court: “When you are in a situation like this, the moment something private is out, your circle of trust and knowledge decreases over time.”

He added: “The stuff in these articles is not the kind of stuff I would talk about openly.”

The duke said it would have been “impossible to complain” about certain stories because “thousands” of articles were being written about him by newspapers.

He added: “If you complain, they double down on you, in my experience.”