Frost pregnancy tip came from 'good source', ex-Mail journalist tells court

A former Daily Mail editor has denied obtaining sensitive medical information about the actress Sadie Frost's ectopic pregnancy though unlawful means.

Katie Nicholl gave evidence remotely on Monday at the High Court as part of a trial in which Associated Newspapers (ANL), which publishes the Mail, is accused by Frost and other claimants of "grave breaches of privacy" over a 20-year period. The publisher denies the claims.

Frost's claim relates to 11 articles and two "episodes" of alleged unlawful information gathering for articles that were not published, including one about a pregnancy.

Nicholl said the tip for the story came from a freelance journalist "with a very good source".

Barrister David Sherborne, representing Frost, said the actress only told the father of her unborn child and "maybe also one of her very close friends" about the ectopic pregnancy and subsequent termination, which happened in 2003.

Ectopic pregnancies are when the embryo starts growing outside the womb, usually in the fallopian tube, and can be life-threatening.

Sherborne put it to Nicholl, who was then the Mail on Sunday's showbiz editor, that her discovery of details about the pregnancy "must be from unlawful information gathering", which Nicholl denied.

Sherborne suggested the journalist used private investigators to find out the information, to which Nicholl replied: "I never used them to blag medical information."

The court heard "blagging" was when someone impersonated someone else, in order to obtain private information.

Sherborne also said Nicholl had asked Frost "an extraordinarily intrusive question" about whether she had been pregnant in the last 12 weeks, suggesting she was seeking confirmation from Frost or another family member "so you had a legitimate source for the story if anyone complained".

Nicholl said she was trying to "stand up" the story.

"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 later told the court there were a number of reasons why the story about the pregnancy was not published by the Mail, including Frost's denial, the involvement of her lawyers and the sensitivity of the story.

Nicholl was also asked about articles she wrote about private conversations between Frost and her ex-husband, actor Jude Law, around the time of their divorce, and whether they came about as a result of phone-hacking.

"The suggestion you are making is nonsense, this was a genuine source."

Nicholl is also named as an author of seven articles in the Duke of Sussex's claim against ANL, which he alleges came from unlawful information gathering.

In written evidence, Nicholl said that she had "an excellent, reliable network of contacts", and that she got many stories about Prince Harry from friends.

These friends, she said, "had an intimate knowledge of his social life both through spending time with Prince Harry and his group of friends and having access to his social media".

The journalist said in a witness statement that her professional reputation had been impacted by "groundless" allegations made against her.

"I have worked very hard over the course of my career to get to where I am today," Nicholl said, adding that while she "didn't always get every story right", this was because she was "dependent on real sources".

"I have never knowingly used illegally obtained information, hacked a phone, intercepted voicemails or asked anyone to do so on my behalf."

Nicholl will continue to give evidence to the High Court on Thursday.

The other claimants in the case against ANL are:

The trial is due to conclude in March, with a judgement in writing due at a later date.