Prince Harry and Elton John are among a group of public figures suing the publisher of the Daily Mail over allegations of phone hacking.
On Thursday, lawyers at Hamlins confirmed they were representing the Duke of Sussex and Sadie Frost in the group action against executives at Associated Newspapers Ltd (ANL) while Elton, his husband David Furnish, Liz Hurley, and Doreen Lawrence - whose son Stephen was murdered in 1993 - will be represented by the team at law firm Gunnercooke.
In a statement, a representative for Hamlins claimed the individuals had been subjected to "abhorrent criminal activity".
The alleged activity included the hiring of private investigators to "secretly place" listening devices inside people's cars and homes, the "commissioning of individuals to surreptitiously listen into and record people's live, private telephone calls", and the "payment of police officials, with corrupt links to private investigators, for inside, sensitive information".
"It is apparent to these individuals that the alleged crimes listed above represent the tip of the iceberg - and that many other innocent people remain unknowing victims of similar terrible and reprehensible covert acts," they commented. "They have now therefore banded together to uncover the truth, and to hold the journalists responsible fully accountable, many of whom still hold senior positions of authority and power today."
In response to the legal action, a spokesperson for ANL - which also publishes The Mail on Sunday and the Mail Online - rejected all allegations.
"We utterly and unambiguously refute these preposterous smears which appear to be nothing more than a pre-planned and orchestrated attempt to drag the Mail titles into the phone hacking scandal concerning articles up to 30 years old," the rep stated. "These unsubstantiated and highly defamatory claims - based on no credible evidence - appear to be simply a fishing expedition by claimants and their lawyers, some of whom have already pursued cases elsewhere."
