A UK High Court judge has ordered Prince Harry and six other high-profile claimants to pay £9.54m to the publisher of the Daily Mail as an initial contribution towards its legal costs after they lost a case alleging unlawful information gathering.
Justice Matthew Nicklin ordered the payment to Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL) by August 28, following a ruling that the claimants’ case against the publisher had been pursued unreasonably.
The seven claimants had accused ANL, the publisher of the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday, of using unlawful methods to obtain private information, including phone hacking and surveillance.
The claimants included Harry, Elton John, his husband David Furnish, Baroness Doreen Lawrence, actors Sadie Frost and Elizabeth Hurley, and former Liberal Democrat MP Sir Simon Hughes.
ANL denied the allegations.
The case was dismissed by the High Court in July after an 11-week trial. In his judgment, Nicklin described the claims as “speculative and substantially inferential” and said they lacked a proper evidential foundation.
The publisher told the court that its legal costs for defending the case had exceeded £34m, with the claimants’ insurance covering only about £16m.
Friday’s order is an interim payment, meaning the £9.54m is not necessarily the final amount the claimants will have to pay.
The court is expected to determine the final legal costs at a later stage, with ANL potentially seeking a substantially larger sum.
The claimants have until October 2 to decide whether to appeal the July judgment.
The case is separate from Harry’s other legal battles with British newspaper groups, including his successful action against the publisher of the Daily Mirror and his settlement with News Group Newspapers over unlawful activity by The Sun and the now-defunct News of the World.
(The Whistler)
