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 expenses of the Daily Mail’s publisher following the dismissal of their privacy lawsuits. Last month, Judge Matthew Nicklin decisively rejected the case brought by Prince Charles’s younger son and several others, dismissing claims that the Mail titles had been involved in widespread illegal activities like phone hacking.
Among the high-profile figures suing Associated Newspapers were singer Elton John and his Canadian spouse, David Furnish, as well as actors Sadie Frost and Elizabeth Hurley. Other claimants included former Liberal Democratic MP Simon Hughes and Doreen Lawrence, who turned into an anti-racism advocate after her son, Stephen, was killed in 1993.
Judge Nicklin criticized the claimants’ case, stating that serious allegations were based on “speculative and inferential” grounds, deeming their conduct highly unreasonable. A spokesperson for Associated Newspapers hailed the ruling as “another resounding victory for the Mail and its journalism.”
The court mandated that the outstanding amount be paid on an “indemnity basis,” meaning that the prince and other claimants must contribute to Associated’s legal fees without the publisher having to justify the reasonableness or proportionality of the costs.
During a hearing in July, it was disclosed that Associated had accrued a legal bill of £34.5 million ($64.7 million Cdn), while Prince Harry and the other claimants were covered by an insurance policy up to £16 million ($30 million Cdn). Nicholas Bacon, the claimants’ lawyer, criticized Associated’s legal bill as “exorbitant,” surpassing the agreed budget.
The decision on a potential appeal by the claimants is pending. Prince Harry’s spokesperson refrained from commenting on the ruling. The prince previously denounced the court loss as a “complete and obvious whitewash” earlier this year.
Prince Harry and Meghan recently announced their plans to return to the UK with their children after spending six years in Southern California. This case marks the conclusion of a series of lawsuits filed by Harry against tabloid publishers for employing unlawful tactics. In a previous litigation, Harry was awarded £140,600 (about $240,430 Cdn) for being a victim of phone-hacking and other illegal information gathering by journalists at Mirror Group Newspapers.
In a separate major case, Rupert Murdoch’s News Group in the UK issued a formal apology to the Duke of Sussex for phone hacking, surveillance, and misuse of private information. However, the court dismissed an allegation of a secret arrangement between Murdoch’s newspaper group and Buckingham Palace to prevent royals from pursuing such lawsuits.
