Prince Harry's allegation that a story declaring his love for his former girlfriend Chelsy Davy was obtained through phone hacking has been branded "absolute b*****ks" by the Daily Mail's chief reporter.
Sam Greenhill gave evidence at the High Court in the trial of seven claimants who are bringing legal action against Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL), which publishes the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday, over allegations of unlawful information gathering.
The publisher firmly denies the claims and is actively defending the case brought by the Duke of Sussex, Sir Elton John and others.
Barrister David Sherborne, who is representing the seven high-profile figures, asked Mr Greenhill about an article from December 2004, titled "How Harry fell in love", which was written by the paper's now-royal editor Rebecca English.
The duke's claim has been branded as 'absolute b*****ks'
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The article detailed how Harry shared parts of his relationship with Chelsy Davy around a campfire in Botswana.
The court in London heard that the reporter was asked to follow up on a tip the Daily Mail newsdesk had received and that he spoke to a man on the phone who had been in the same area as Harry in Botswana.
Mr Sherborne suggested the call "did not take place at all", later claiming that Mr Greenhill had used voicemail interception.
The journalist branded Mr Sherborne's allegations as "absolute b*****ks".
The story under scrutiny is titled 'How Harry fell in love'
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Mr Greenhill, in his written evidence, said the man who gave the tip did not know Harry, but "just happened to be in the same place and recognised Prince Harry".
He stated: "As far as I can remember, he said that a group of them had been sitting around the campfire, and one of the people in the group was Prince Harry.
"He said that Prince Harry was talking about this amazing girl he had met. As I recall, he did not give me the name of the girl."
The journalist added that he did not remember the exact words the man said, as it was over two decades ago, but confirmed the quotes in the article "are consistent with what I remember of the conversation".
The journalist claimed a man gave a tip-off about Harry
| PACross-examining the reporter, Mr Sherborne said: "You've worked back from the quotations in the article and said they are consistent with what you remember."
Mr Greenhill responded: "No, I did not know about the article until these proceedings."
The journalist later told the court he would have done "due diligence" about the tip, saying: "I would have taken his name and would have done some checks to make sure he was who he said he was. I can't remember, but it was 22 years ago."
Mr Sherborne later suggested that Mr Greenhill's account about the "so-called" source was "completely false", to which the journalist replied: "What I told you was the truth."
The trial is due to conclude at the end of the month
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Giving evidence last month, Harry said that those at the campfire with him would not have shared the information with journalists.
He told the court there "would be a lot more out there" if people whom he described as some of his "closest friends" had decided to speak to the press.
Antony White KC, representing ANL, told Harry that the duke's remarks about being in love with Ms Davy at the campfire could only have reached Mail journalists if someone had informed them.
Harry said the information was more likely picked up when he "talked about it on a voicemail" or other communication.
The trial before Mr Justice Nicklin is due to conclude on March 31, with a written judgment expected at a later date.
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