Prince Harry and other prominent individuals have been ordered by London’s High Court to pay an interim sum of £9.54 million ($17.9 million Cdn) towards the legal expenses of the Daily Mail’s publisher following their defeat in privacy lawsuits. Last month, Judge Matthew Nicklin dismissed the case brought by Prince Harry and several others, which alleged that the Mail publications had been involved in extensive illegal activities, including phone hacking.
Among the notable figures suing Associated Newspapers were singer Elton John and his spouse David Furnish, actors Sadie Frost and Elizabeth Hurley, former Liberal Democratic MP Simon Hughes, and anti-racism activist Doreen Lawrence. Judge Nicklin criticized the claimants’ case, stating that serious allegations were based on speculative and inferential grounds, deeming their conduct highly unreasonable.
Associated Newspapers hailed the court ruling as a significant victory for its journalism. The ruling stipulated that the outstanding amount must be paid on an indemnity basis, requiring the losing party to contribute towards the publisher’s legal costs without the need for justification of reasonableness or proportionality.
During a hearing in July, it was revealed that Associated had accrued legal fees of £34.5 million ($64.7 million Cdn), while Prince Harry and the other claimants were covered by an insurance policy of only £16 million ($30 million Cdn). The claimants’ lawyer, Nicholas Bacon, argued that Associated’s legal bill was exorbitant and exceeded the agreed budget.
The decision on whether the claimants will appeal the ruling is pending. Prince Harry’s spokesperson did not comment on the court ruling. The prince had previously described the court loss as a “complete and obvious whitewash.”
Prince Harry and Meghan recently announced their plans to return to the UK for their children’s education after residing in California for the past six years. This lawsuit marks the final legal battle in a series of cases filed by Prince Harry against tabloid publishers for unlawful practices.
In a separate case, Rupert Murdoch’s News Group in the UK issued a public apology to Prince Harry for phone hacking and privacy breaches, though the court dismissed claims of a secret arrangement with Buckingham Palace to prevent royals from pursuing such lawsuits.