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A PI at the heart of the lawsuit initiated by the Duke of Sussex and several claimants targeting the publishing group of the popular tabloid has stated his signature on an earlier testimonial document was a “forgery”, the superior court has been told.

The investigator, connected to the most severe allegations of unlawful intelligence gathering made by seven well-known personalities including the music icon and Doreen Lawrence, retracted his alleged admission, stating it was “wholly fabricated”.

Context of the Alleged Statement

The private eye had reportedly stated in a testimonial from 2021 that he and his crew gathered information by accessing voicemails, intercepting home telephones and placing listening devices in automobiles. He also reportedly indicated he had been employed on behalf of the Sunday publication.

The media company is accused by the group of performing or commissioning illegal acts such as engaging inquiry agents to install listening devices inside vehicles, deceptively obtaining private records and gaining entry to private phone conversations. The defendant denies the accusations and is opposing the legal action.

Withdrawal and New Allegations

Five of the plaintiffs have informed the court they commenced the lawsuit targeting the publisher based on evidence allegedly gathered by Burrows.

Burrows had earlier retracted his supposed testimony in 2023. In a new lengthy witness statement made on 25 September 2025, and disclosed by the high court on Tuesday, he reaffirmed his denial, stating he had at no time carried out any unlawful act on behalf of the company.

In the latest testimony, he stated he did “fail to acknowledge” the supposed witness statement on 16 August 2021”. He claimed he was of the opinion it was “drafted by someone else”, that the autograph is not mine”, and did dispute the veracity of a great deal of the contents”.

The investigator declared: “I am unfamiliar with the earlier witness statement of 16 August 2021 and I am convinced that my signature on that statement is a fabrication. A great deal of it is not written in my type of language. Moreover, the substance of the testimony are substantially false.”

He stated further that he had “not once” carried out tasks for the Sunday paper or the Daily Mail, with the exception of one assignment concerning Sir Richard Branson that “did not involve any illicit behavior”.

Circumstances of the Original Statement

Burrows claimed he was on powerful analgesics after a severe physical assault, and consuming excessive alcohol, when he was approached by Graham Johnson, a whistleblower convicted of voicemail interception, who desired help with research on phone-hacking claims targeting newspapers.

He was referred to a contact, Dan Waddell, who was described as a legal assistant and was paid £600 a instance for counsel.

His testimony said he was informed allegations targeting newspapers were probable to settle out of court, as the papers did not want the exposure or expense of a legal proceeding, and were described to him as a “ideal scheme” and a “easy money”.

The investigator, who said he had stopped operating for publications in that year, asserted he had stated to the former journalist repeatedly that the company were not one of my clients”.

Present Court Situation

The witness was at first a testifier for the group, which also includes Sadie Frost and several individuals, but is now the topic of legal arguments about the possibility that he will be asked to testify as a witness for the trial.

Antony White KC, for the publisher, asked the judge to authorize him to question the witness, while David Sherborne, for the group, made an petition to call his testimony as rumor.

The presiding officer gave Sherborne one week to choose whether he wished to request a court order to compel Burrows, and informed him if the witness offered testimony that was inconsistent with the information they had gathered, then he could apply to regard him as “uncooperative”.

A additional pre-trial hearing in the case is anticipated to take place before the end of the year.