Private investigator Jonathan Rees denies telling Doreen Lawrence he was involved in bugging her

A key whistleblower supporting a legal claim headed by Prince Harry and Doreen Lawrence against the publisher of the Daily Mail appears to have dealt a last-minute blow to the case against the media group.

Just weeks before a high court trial, Jonathan Rees, a private investigator who has supported claims of unlawful news gathering at Associated Newspapers, has contradicted a central allegation in the claimants’ case.

Robert Milne says he fully recognises the ‘seriousness of the behaviours described in the media’

Dulwich college’s headteacher has responded to allegations of teenage racism by Nigel Farage by saying he recognised the “seriousness of the behaviours described in the media”.

Robert Milne, who joined the school as its “master” this summer, said the alleged behaviour was “at odds” with the modern-day school in a letter in which he said he understood why 28 former pupils had felt compelled to speak out.

‘Agent Stakeknife’, who carried out sadistic killings then was helped to relocate to England, only once saw the inside of a courtroom

• MI5 impeded inquiry into Stakeknife agent who murdered for IRA, says official report

• ‘I’m not going to hide again’: Stakeknife report met with relief by victims’ families

When Freddie Scappaticci, 77, suffered the stroke on the morning of 16 February 2023 that would kill him, he had not worked for two decades.

It was nevertheless in a spacious and comfortable home, known as Homeleigh, that he fell ill; a four-bedroom detached property with a double garage and a large, if dated, kitchen that led through French doors to a sprawling garden, with a wendy house half buried in the lush green hedge at the back.