Prince Harry and a group of six other high-profile individuals have been ordered to make an initial payment of £9.54 million in legal costs to Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL), the publisher of the Daily Mail. This ruling follows the group’s unsuccessful High Court privacy claim, which was dismissed by Mr Justice Nicklin on 7 July. The judge concluded that the claimants had failed to substantiate their allegations of unlawful information-gathering against the publisher.
The seven claimants, who include Sir Elton John, his husband David Furnish, Liz Hurley, Sir Simon Hughes, Sadie Frost, and Baroness Doreen Lawrence, are required to settle this interim payment by 28 August. Beyond this initial sum, the group could face a total liability of up to £34.5 million in legal costs incurred by the newspaper group. While the claimants held insurance covering up to £16.2 million of the publisher’s legal expenses, the court’s decision leaves them potentially responsible for an additional £18 million.
Mr Justice Nicklin described the publisher’s request for £34.5 million as “excessive” and expressed concerns regarding whether all claimed costs were reasonably incurred. Nevertheless, he declined to impose a formal ceiling on the recoverable amount, noting that doing so would be arbitrary and potentially unfair. The judge ordered that the costs be determined on an indemnity basis, a structure more favorable to the publisher for recovering its legal expenditures.
The court’s decision was heavily influenced by the manner in which the case was conducted. Justice Nicklin criticized the claimants for failing to withdraw unsupportable allegations, specifically those claiming that senior executives had lied to the Leveson public inquiry. He described this failure as “unreasonable to a high degree,” noting that it was “striking” that no serious allegations of criminality or impropriety were voluntarily retracted during the proceedings. He emphasized that such grave accusations cannot be left hanging over individuals without a proper evidential basis.
In a statement released on Friday, the publisher characterized the ruling as a “devastating critique” of an attempt to damage the reputations of its journalists, editors, and executives. Conversely, Prince Harry and Baroness Doreen Lawrence issued a joint statement last month expressing their dissatisfaction with the initial dismissal of their case. They described the outcome as a “complete and obvious whitewash” and stated that they had sought justice and accountability, which they felt they did not receive.
Sir Simon Hughes, another of the claimants, expressed his disappointment with the judgment. He confirmed that he is currently reviewing both the substantive and costs rulings to determine whether to pursue an appeal. The claimants have until 2 October to formally launch such an appeal.
The legal battle involved testimony from numerous witnesses, including the claimants themselves, with the Duke of Sussex traveling from the United States to appear in court. Throughout the trial, current and former Associated Newspapers staff consistently denied engaging in any illegal activity. The court proceedings concluded with the judge determining that the claimants’ approach to the litigation was not a disciplined or proper way to handle serious allegations. The report also notes that the judge ruled that he was making an exceptional order to force the Duke of Sussex and others to pay up to £34.5m in costs incurred by the newspaper group because of the way the case had been brought – including unsupportable claims that top executives from the group had lied to the Leveson public inquiry. The report also notes that the claimants had insurance to cover up to £16.2m of Association Newspapers’ costs in the event of losing the case – but Friday’s ruling means the newspaper group could now try to recover up to the £34.5m that it said it had to spend to defend itself. The report also notes that as it would “be too broad brushed, would risk unfairness, and would be vulnerable to the charge that it was arbitrary”, but he added he had “decided not to impose a ceiling on Associated’s recoverable costs”. The report also notes that or no longer has a proper evidential basis for advancing it, the allegation should be withdrawn clearly and in terms, if a party no longer advances such an allegation. The report also notes that with their children Prince Archie, seven, and Princess Lilibet, five, enrolled to start school in September, friday’s decision comes just days after the Duke and Duchess announced their plan to return to the UK. The report also notes that sir Simon Hughes said he was “disappointed” by the judgement.
