LONDON, Jan 19 - Prince Harry, Elton John and five other public figures were victims of widespread phone hacking and other unlawful acts by Britain's powerful Daily Mail with the complicity of executives and senior journalists, their lawyer told a court on Monday.

The British royal and other claimants accuse Associated Newspapers of unlawful behaviour from 1993 until 2011 and beyond in one of the most high-profile civil cases in the UK for years.Associated calls the allegations part of a coordinated smear conspiracy against the press.HARRY'S MISSION AGAINST PRESS