Sadie Frost's former solicitor told the High Court on Monday he saw no evidence of potential wrongdoing by Associated Newspapers Limited during a crucial 2016 meeting. Mark Thomson's testimony is central to the publisher's defense that claims against it were filed too late, beyond a six-year legal limit.
Thomson testified he met with Frost and researcher Dr Evan Harris in April 2016 after Harris contacted Frost earlier that year. Harris told Frost she was "not the only case we have found" of alleged ANL wrongdoing. But Thomson said the meeting produced nothing concrete.
"I was really frustrated as to why he called me to a meeting, Sadie Frost was as well, and I was quite annoyed because he has wasted my time," Thomson told the court. He described it as "a fairly typical Evan meeting, where he promises stuff and does not deliver." Thomson insisted: "Evan provided no evidence at all."
The timing dispute
The testimony goes to the heart of ANL's defense. The publisher argues Frost and six other claimants, including the Duke of Sussex, Sir Elton John and Liz Hurley, launched their legal action in October 2022, more than six years after they should have known about potential claims. UK law requires such actions within six years of discovery.
ANL's barrister Antony White KC argued in written submissions that Frost "had at least constructive knowledge of this claim by the October 2016 cut-off date." During cross-examination, White pressed Thomson on why he didn't request a dossier of evidence that former journalist Graham Johnson offered to hand over before publishing a 2019 article.
"You would inevitably have wanted to see that evidence and take a copy, unless you had already seen it," White suggested. Thomson pushed back: "I wanted the evidence, I wanted a copy, and he did not produce it." He called White's suggestion "completely untrue."
Questions from the bench
Presiding judge Mr Justice Nicklin also questioned Thomson about the April 2016 meeting. "Did it not strike you as odd that (Dr Harris) said he had got no evidence when he expressly referred to having evidence?" the judge asked. Thomson replied: "Yes it did."
White argued the "significance is obvious" of Johnson's 2019 offer, suggesting "It would have taken moments to send an email back asking for the evidence if you did not already know about it."
Frost maintains the 2019 article was the first time she discovered grounds for a claim.
The case
Seven individuals are taking legal action against ANL, publisher of the Daily Mail, over alleged unlawful information gathering. ANL denies all wrongdoing and defends the claims primarily on limitation grounds. Thomson served as Frost's solicitor from 2011 to 2019.
The trial will conclude in March. Mr Justice Nicklin will deliver a written judgment at a later date.
Note: This article was created with Artificial Intelligence (AI).
