--- title: "Baroness Lawrence’s hacking claims ‘wounding’, says ex-Mail editor" type: "News" locale: "en" url: "https://longbridge.com/en/news/275505772.md" description: "Paul Dacre, former editor of the Daily Mail, described Baroness Lawrence's hacking allegations as \"bewildering and bitterly wounding.\" He rejected claims that his campaign for justice for her son, Stephen, was profit-driven, calling it \"sickeningly misplaced.\" Lawrence is suing Associated Newspapers for breach of privacy, alleging extensive surveillance. Dacre, the first defense witness, expressed anger over the allegations and defended the integrity of the Daily Mail, denying any involvement in phone hacking. The trial continues amid scrutiny of Associated's proposed acquisition of The Telegraph for £500m." datetime: "2026-02-10T19:57:47.000Z" locales: - [zh-CN](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/news/275505772.md) - [en](https://longbridge.com/en/news/275505772.md) - [zh-HK](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/news/275505772.md) generator: "portal-rs" --- # Baroness Lawrence’s hacking claims ‘wounding’, says ex-Mail editor Paul Dacre, the former editor of the Daily Mail, has described Baroness Lawrence’s allegations of criminality at the newspaper as “bewildering and bitterly wounding”. Mr Dacre, 77, said the suggestion that his high-profile campaign to bring her son Stephen’s killers to justice was driven by a desire to boost sales and make a profit was “sickeningly misplaced and bleakly cynical”. Baroness Lawrence is among seven high-profile claimants suing Associated Newspapers Limited for breach of privacy, having been alerted to her potential claim by the Duke of Sussex. She has alleged that she was “extensively targeted” by private investigators who bugged her phone and put her under surveillance on behalf of the Mail. Stephen Lawrence, an 18-year-old aspiring architect, was stabbed to death by a group of up to six white youths as he waited at a bus stop in Eltham, south-east London, in April 1993. The Daily Mail, under the editorship of Mr Dacre, was at the forefront of the fight to bring his killers to justice, branding the five men – Gary Dobson, Neil Acourt, Jamie Acourt, Luke Knight, and David Norris – “murderers” in February 1997 and challenging them to sue for libel. Mr Dacre told the court on Tuesday: “Throughout my 26-year editorship, this, of all my countless campaigns, many of which made a significant contribution to the public weal, is the campaign of which I am most proud and to which I devoted the most space.” Mr Dacre, now the editor-in-chief of DMG Media, the holding company of Associated Newspapers, was the first witness for the defence to give evidence. The judge had previously been told that it was considered “critically important” he went “out over the top first” to address the allegations before sending the “troops into battle”. Mr Dacre, speaking so softly that he was barely audible, told the court that while he “clearly” wished to clear his name, he was more concerned about the reputation of the Daily Mail and its “honest and dedicated” staff, for whom he said he was “very angry and upset”. “The grave and sometimes preposterous allegations made in these proceedings have astonished, appalled and – in the small hours of the night – reduced me to rage,” he added in his 52-page witness statement. Challenged about his lack of acknowledgement of the impact on the claimants, he replied: “My heart bleeds for Baroness Doreen Lawrence, but these are allegations at the moment.” Mr Dacre said he “utterly rejects” that the Mail hacked and tapped phones, adding that he had “never” placed a story in the Daily Mail as a result of phone hacking and knew of no cases of phone hacking at the Mail. Such “blatant illegality” would not have been countenanced at any level, and it would have been “insanity” to risk damaging his reputation by allowing such activity to take place, he added. David Sherborne, the barrister acting for all seven claimants, has repeatedly suggested that Mr Dacre gave false information to the 2011-12 Leveson Inquiry about his newspaper’s use of private investigators and his insistence that there was “no phone hacking on the Daily Mail”. Prince Harry told the court he could remember Mr Dacre “clearly stating that phone hacking had not taken place at Associated” and was “so convinced that I didn’t even think twice about it”. Mr Dacre “emphatically” denied that he had lied to the inquiry about his ban on using private investigators, phone hacking, computer hacking and paying police officers. He explained to the court that the emergence of private investigators at the turn of the millennium presented a “totally new landscape for journalism” and that most journalists had an “extremely hazy understanding” of the ramifications of the new digital technology and data protection laws. However, he said he had no recollection of being told of any particular instances or allegations of ” blagging” by journalists or “inquiry agents” during his time as editor and would have been “pretty furious” if significant private information had been blagged that was not in the public interest. After almost two hours of cross-examination, Mr Justice Nicklin warned Mr Sherborne that the bulk of his questions to Mr Dacre had not addressed the specific claims and said he was “struggling” to understand their relevance. He warned that the case was not a public inquiry and gave him until 3pm on Wednesday to complete his cross-examination. Associated is a subsidiary of Daily Mail and General Trust, Lord Rothermere’s holding company, which has agreed to acquire The Telegraph for £500m. The proposed takeover is expected to face regulatory scrutiny in the coming weeks. The trial continues. ### Related Stocks - [DMGT.UK](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/DMGT.UK.md) - [DMGO.UK](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/DMGO.UK.md) --- > **Disclaimer: This article is for reference only and does not constitute any investment advice.**