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Fourteen years ago, Dacre defended Associated Newspapers at the Leveson Inquiry into press standards, addressing the newspaper’s use of private investigators to gather information. At that time, he responded to questions about the extent and methods employed by the paper in its information-gathering practices.
Returning to court on Tuesday, Dacre faced similar questioning from David Sherborne, the barrister representing seven claimants involved in the case. During the trial, Dacre acknowledged that he was not fully aware of how extensively the paper utilized private investigators—whom he described as “inquiry agents”—until approximately 2007, when he reportedly brought an end to such practices.
When questioned about his motives, Sherborne suggested that Dacre’s involvement might be driven more by a desire to protect his legacy than by a pursuit of a fair outcome. In response, Dacre admitted that he wanted to clear his name but also emphasized his concern for the “honest and dedicated” staff who worked for the newspaper. His rejection of allegations that hacking and phone tapping were common at the Daily Mail was firm. He stated, “I utterly reject this. Such blatant illegality would not, I believe, have been countenanced at any level on the paper I edited.” Furthermore, he claimed that if he had been informed of any journalist or agent unlawfully acquiring information, he would have been “pretty furious.”
Dacre expressed in his witness statement that the “sometimes preposterous allegations” had caused him intense anger during sleepless nights, describing the accusations as having a “deeply upsetting and, in some instances, traumatic impact” on both former and current Daily Mail employees. Among the claimants is Baroness Lawrence, mother of Stephen Lawrence, the black schoolboy who was murdered. The Daily Mail had previously supported her campaign related to her son’s murder. Baroness Lawrence alleges that Associated Newspapers engaged in secret surveillance of her, including phone tapping and monitoring of her bank account. She told the court that hearing these claims made her feel “a victim all over again.” Regarding these allegations, Dacre expressed sympathy, stating, “my heart bleeds for Doreen Lawrence,” while also describing her claims as “especially bewildering and bitterly wounding to me personally.”
Tensions during the trial occasionally became palpable, particularly between Dacre and Sherborne. At one point, Sherborne accused Dacre of selectively recalling information in a manner that favored him, suggesting, “you choose to remember the things that might be helpful, and deliberately forget the things that might be unhelpful.
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