A former Daily Mail showbusiness editor has denied claims of listening to voicemails between actors Jude Law and Sadie Frost, insisting that stories about their relationship came from a legitimate source.

Nicole Lampert testified that the information she used in articles about the couple “never” came from accessing voicemail messages.

Instead, she said her insights were obtained through a trusted freelance journalist, Sharon Feinstein, who had a reliable source close to Frost.

Lampert emphasized: “I had an amazing human source via a trusted freelance journalist.”

Frost, one of seven high-profile claimants in the case against Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL), told the High Court she now “100%” believes that some stories about her were obtained through voicemail hacking.

Her claim relates to four articles written between 2003 and 2005 that included private details of conversations with Law.

During the proceedings, Lampert addressed a 2004 story about a £10m divorce settlement between Law and Frost.

Law’s solicitors had previously complained that the article implied he had accepted the settlement, prompting an apology from the Daily Mail.

Lampert maintained that the story’s information came from her freelance contact, not voicemail hacking.

Other stories discussed in court included Frost being proscribed sleeping pills and Law revealing to his son his engagement to Sienna Miller during a car journey.

Lampert admitted such reporting “wouldn’t happen now” but denied unlawful information gathering.

The claimants, including Prince Harry, allege that ANL engaged in “clear, systematic and sustained use of unlawful information gathering” over two decades, encompassing private investigators and blagging techniques.

The trial is expected to last nine weeks.

This case is part of broader legal scrutiny of UK newspapers’ practices regarding celebrity privacy, adding to previous allegations against the Daily Mail and its editors.