Daniel Hanks, 74, a veteran private investigator also known as “Danno,” told The Washington Post in a phone interview that he improperly accessed details about Meghan, including her Social Security number, and sold that information to the Sun.
In a statement, the Sun’s publisher said it had made a “legitimate” request for information from Hanks, and stressed that he was not asked to do “anything illegal or breach any privacy laws.”
A spokesman for the duke and duchess said in an emailed statement that “today is an important moment of reflection for the media industry and society at large, as this investigative report shows that the predatory practises of days past are still ongoing, reaping irreversible damage for families and relationships.”
Harry and Meghan have had a fraught relationship with the British tabloids. Harry recently told CBS talk-show host James Corden that the British tabloids were “destroying my mental health.”
The couple have taken legal action against tabloids on a number of occasions. Meghan recently won a privacy case against the Mail on Sunday, which published lengthy extracts of a handwritten letter she wrote to her estranged father.
In late autumn of 2016, Hanks was asked by the Sun to do searches on Meghan, her family members and associates, he said. He…
