Emotional Prince Harry says press made wife Meghan’s life ‘an absolute misery’ in court testimony against Daily Mail publisher- as it happened

The trial has been adjourned to 10.30am on Thursday after the Duke of Sussex finished giving evidence at the High Court into his legal claim against Associated Newspapers Limited.

Barrister David Sherborne, for the group of high-profile figures suing the publisher, said they were “not in a position to have anyone else ready” to give evidence on Wednesday.

Here is a summary of the day’s events:

Prince Harry has insisted he did not have a “leaky” social circle that gave stories about him to journalists at the Daily Mail and the Mail on Sunday, as he told the high court the publisher of the titles had “an obsession” with surveilling him.

Giving evidence in the high court against Associated Newspapers Led (ANL), the Duke of Sussex rejected the publisher’s claims that its journalists had secured information about him from his friends and acquaintances, rather than through unlawful means.

Prince Harry broke down and appeared to be on the verge of tears as he said his treatment has “only got worse” from Associated since his litigation began. His voice cracked as he said: “They continue to come after me. They have made my wife’s life an absolute misery, my lord.”

Antony White KC, for Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL), asked the Duke of Sussex about phone conversations he had with Rebecca English, now royal editor at the Daily Mail, during which he allegedly thanked her. Harry said he had no recollection of the calls, but that journalists were people who “we were forced to work with, we had to have some kind of relationship with them”.

Antony White KC, for Associated Newspapers Limited, claimed while cross-examining the Duke of Sussex that Harry used a Facebook profile named ‘Mr Mischief’ to contact a Mail On Sunday journalist. White was asking Harry whether he had met Charlotte Griffiths, who the barrister claimed moved in the duke’s “social circles”.

Harry said he had “never used the name Mr Mischief”, and that he had “no idea” if he had exchanged messages with Griffiths on Facebook.

The Duke of Sussex said in his written evidence that he was “really worried something bad was going to happen” when he was in a relationship with Chelsy Davy. Describing a surprise visit to Argentina by Davy, Harry said in his written evidence that he “suspected someone had been paid to reveal our plans”.

The Duke of Sussex has claimed it was “beyond cruel” to publish an article about “confidential discussions” he had after a photo of a dying Diana, Princess of Wales was published in the Italian press. In his written evidence, Harry described an article published in the Daily Mail in July 2006 as “really disgusting”, saying he was having private discussions with his brother, the now-Prince of Wales.

The Duke of Sussex said that he did not question denials of phone hacking made by Paul Dacre at the Leveson Inquiry “out of fear of retaliation”.

In his 23-page witness statement, Harry said that when he brought legal action against two other newspaper publishers, he had “no idea” that he had a claim against ANL. He continued: “As I am sure is clear, if I had known earlier then I would have acted, particularly given ANL’s treatment of Meghan and her claim against it.”

In response to a source close to the Duke of Sussex’s claim, who said Associated Newspapers Limited had used “game playing and dirty tricks” to bring forward Harry’s evidence, an Associated Newspapers spokesperson said: “Prince Harry has been in London since the weekend ready to give evidence in this case, which he launched three and half years ago. We don’t intend to dignify this briefing by the other side with any further comment.”

Read our full report on today’s evidence in court here: Prince Harry accuses Daily Mail publisher of wanting to drive him ‘to drugs and drink’ | Prince Harry | The Guardian