Prince Harry and other prominent individuals have been ordered by London’s High Court to make an interim payment of £9.54 million ($17.9 million Cdn) towards the legal fees of the publisher of the Daily Mail. This ruling comes after their unsuccessful privacy lawsuits were dismissed by Judge Matthew Nicklin last month. The court case involved allegations of unlawful activities, such as phone hacking, by the Mail titles.
Among the high-profile individuals suing Associated Newspapers were singer Elton John, his Canadian spouse David Furnish, and actors Sadie Frost and Elizabeth Hurley. Other claimants included former Liberal Democratic MP Simon Hughes and anti-racism activist Doreen Lawrence, whose son Stephen was killed in 1993.
Judge Nicklin criticized the claimants’ case, stating that serious allegations were based on speculative and inferential grounds, leading to unreasonable conduct to a high degree. Associated Newspapers’ spokesperson hailed the court ruling as a significant victory for the Mail and its journalism.
The court ruling specified that the outstanding amount must be paid on an “indemnity basis,” meaning that as the losing party, Prince Harry and the other claimants are required to contribute towards Associated’s legal costs without the publisher having to prove they were reasonable and proportionate.
During a hearing in July, it was disclosed that Associated had accumulated a legal bill of £34.5 million ($64.7 million Cdn), while the claimants had an insurance policy covering only £16 million ($30 million Cdn). Nicholas Bacon, the claimants’ lawyer, criticized the exorbitant nature of Associated’s legal bill, which surpassed the agreed budget.
The decision on whether the claimants will appeal the ruling is pending, with no comment from Harry’s spokesperson provided on Friday. The prince had previously expressed disappointment over the court loss, calling it a “complete and obvious whitewash.”
In a recent development, Harry and Meghan announced their plans to return to the U.K. with their children after residing in southern California for the past six years. This decision comes after a series of lawsuits filed by Harry against tabloid publishers for using unlawful tactics, with the Daily Mail case being the final outstanding litigation.
In 2023, Harry made history by becoming the first British royal in 130 years to testify at a trial. Notably, the Rupert Murdoch-led News Group in the U.K. issued an apology to the Duke of Sussex for phone hacking and other privacy breaches. However, the court dismissed claims of a secret deal between Murdoch’s newspaper group and Buckingham Palace to prevent royals from pursuing legal action against them.
