London, UK - Prince Harry and singer Sir Elton John are among six people suing the publisher of The Daily Mail newspaper over alleged unlawful information-gathering at its titles.

A statement released on Thursday by lawyers acting for the group, which also includes Sir Elton's husband David Furnish and actresses Liz Hurley and Sadie Frost, said they are bringing claims for misuse of private information against Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL).

It said the group have "become aware of compelling and highly distressing evidence that they have been the victims of abhorrent criminal activity and gross breaches of privacy" by ANL - which is also the publisher of The Mail On Sunday and MailOnline.

The publisher hit back at the allegations, describing them as "preposterous smears" and a "pre-planned and orchestrated attempt to drag the Mail titles into the phone hacking scandal."

Filings at the High Court in London showed that claims were filed on behalf of Sir Elton and Mr Furnish, Baroness Lawrence and Ms Hurley on Thursday afternoon.

Baroness Lawrence, mother of Stephen Lawrence, who was murdered in a racially-motivated attack in Eltham, south London in 1993, has also lodged a claim against Rupert Murdoch-owned News Group Newspapers, publisher of various titles including The Sun and the now-defunct News Of The World.

The details of that claim are not known, but it is understood to also relate to misuse of private information.

The statement about the legal action against ANL, released by Hamlins law firm, claims that the unlawful acts which are alleged to have taken place include the hiring of private investigators to secretly place listening devices inside cars and homes and the recording of private phone conversations.

It also alleges that payments were made to police "with corrupt links to private investigators" for sensitive information, that medical information was "obtained by deception" and that bank accounts and financial information was accessed "through illicit means and manipulation."

A spokesman for Associated Newspapers said: "We utterly and unambiguously refute these preposterous smears which appear to be nothing more than a pre-planned and orchestrated attempt to drag the Mail titles into the phone hacking scandal concerning articles up to 30 years old."

"These unsubstantiated and highly defamatory claims, based on no credible evidence, appear to be simply a fishing expedition by claimants and their lawyers, some of whom have already pursued cases elsewhere," the statement added.