Harry’s ex was targeted by private detective after Duke ‘became new Diana’

Gavin Burrows has apologised, claiming 'There was a lot of surveillance work on her phones, on her comms'.

A private investigator has apologised for targeting Prince Harry’s former girlfriend for surveillance in the early 2000s.

Gavin Burrows said editors had told him the Duke was seen as ‘the new Diana’ and sold more papers than his brother Prince William if he was featured on the front page.

He is a witness in ongoing legal action being brought by Prince Harry and others against News Group Newspapers – the publisher of the Sun and the News of the World – as well as the Daily Mirror’s owner.

Mr Burrows told the BBC he regretted his actions, describing the press at the time as ‘ruthless’ and claiming: ‘There was a lot of voicemail hacking going on.’

He said: ‘There was a lot of surveillance work on her phones, on her comms, Chelsy would brag to her friends when she was going to see him.’

Asked what kind of things he was looking for about Ms Davy and whether her life became an object of fascination, he said: ‘Yeah, medical records… had she had an abortion, sexual diseases, ex-boyfriends, vet ’em, check them…’

He said this surveillance began after Prince Harry and Chelsy Davy were linked in 2004.

‘I was basically part of a group of people who robbed him of his normal teenage years,’ he said, adding that he was caught up in taking cocaine and living in a ‘greedy’ way at the time.

Mr Burrows has not yet given evidence in court and his claims are disputed by the newspapers involved.

News Group Newspapers has accepted there was a limited amount of unlawful activity at the News of the World, the Sunday newspaper which closed in 2011.

However, it denies any wrongdoing at the Sun and says it hasn’t admitted liability in any phone-hacking cases.

There have been several high profile claimants against News Group Newspapers regarding phone hacking allegations, including Hugh Grant and Ronan Keating.

However, Prince Harry is one of the few not to accept a settlement, so the case may yet be heard in court.

The interview with Mr Burrows will be screened on BBC2 at 9pm tonight in The Princes and the Press, which will also be available on iPlayer.

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