Sadie Frost pregnancy tip came from source, says Daily Mail journalist

A former editor of the Daily Mail has denied allegations that she obtained confidential medical details concerning actress Sadie Frost’s ectopic pregnancy through illegal methods. Katie Nicholl provided remote testimony at the High Court on Monday during a trial where Associated Newspapers (ANL), the publisher behind the Mail, faces accusations of serious privacy violations spanning two decades. ANL firmly denies these allegations.

The case brought by Frost centers on 11 published articles and two instances of purported unlawful information gathering related to pieces that never appeared, including one about the actress’s pregnancy. Nicholl stated that the tip-off for the pregnancy story originated from a freelance reporter who “had a very good source.” Frost’s legal representative, barrister David Sherborne, explained that the actress confided only in the father of her unborn child and possibly a very close friend regarding the ectopic pregnancy and its termination in 2003.

During questioning, Sherborne suggested that the sensitive pregnancy information must have been acquired through illicit means, a claim Nicholl firmly denied. He also proposed that private investigators might have been employed to uncover the details, to which Nicholl responded, “I never used them to blag medical information.” The court heard that ‘blagging’ refers to impersonating others to obtain private information unlawfully. Sherborne further accused Nicholl of posing an “extraordinarily intrusive question” to Frost about whether she had been pregnant in the previous 12 weeks, implying this was an attempt to secure a legitimate source in anticipation of complaints. Nicholl explained her line of questioning was an effort to verify the story, stating, “She [Frost] denied it and we did not run it… What I am clearly trying to do is put the story to her and give her a chance to respond.” Sherborne added that the story remained unpublished due to Frost’s denial, legal involvement, and the sensitive nature of the topic.

The witness was also asked about articles she authored detailing private conversations between Frost and her ex-husband, Jude Law, amid their divorce, specifically whether those reports resulted from phone hacking. Nicholl rejected this, calling the suggestion “nonsense” and affirming the information came from legitimate sources. Additionally, she is named in seven articles involved in the Duke of Sussex’s separate privacy claim against ANL, which accuse the publisher of unlawful data gathering. In her written evidence, Nicholl emphasized that she maintained “an excellent, reliable network of contacts,” often receiving stories about Prince Harry through friends with close familiarity with his social circle and social media presence.

Nicholl expressed that the unproven allegations had damaged her professional reputation. She stated, “I have worked very hard over the course of my career to get to where I am today,” acknowledging that although she didn’t always get every story correct, this was due to reliance on authentic sources. She firmly denied ever knowingly using illegally obtained information, hacking phones, intercepting voicemails, or soliciting such actions. Nicholl’s testimony will continue at the High Court later this week. Other claimants in the case against ANL include Sir Elton John and his husband David Furnish, actress Liz Hurley, former Liberal Democrat MP Sir Simon Hughes, and campaigner Baroness Doreen Lawrence, whose son Stephen Lawrence was murdered in a racist attack in 1993. The trial is expected to finish by March, with a written judgment to be delivered afterward

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