Prince Harry and six other people have been ordered to pay Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL), the publisher of the Daily Mail, around £9.54 million initially after losing their legal battle over allegations of privacy violations.
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The claimants had taken ANL to court, alleging that illegal methods had been used to obtain information and private data about them. The company, meanwhile, categorically denied all the allegations.
On July 7, High Court Judge Nicklin dismissed the claimants’ appeals, concluding that they had been unable to prove their allegations.
Those who challenged the decision included Prince Harry, singer Elton John and his husband David Furness, Sir Simon Hughes, Sandy Frost, Liz Hurley and Baroness Doreen Lawrence.
Dozens of witnesses took part in the proceedings, including the Duke of Sussex and the other claimants. Harry traveled from the United States to Britain to attend the court hearings in person.
Associated Newspapers, its journalists, and the company’s current and former executives have denied committing any wrongdoing or engaging in illegal practices.
Following the ruling, Prince Harry and Baroness Doreen Lawrence said they had gone to court to seek “justice and accountability,” but, in their view, had received neither.
“This is a complete and blatant cover-up, although unfortunately not an unexpected one,” they said in a joint statement.
ANL asked the court to order the claimants to pay more than £9.9 million upfront in legal costs, while the final cost of the proceedings would be determined at a later date.
The claimants’ lawyers asked for the amount to be reduced to just over £7.9 million. However, the judge set an initial payment of around £9.54 million, which must be paid by August 28.
The final amount of the legal costs the claimants will have to bear will be determined at a later stage of the proceedings.
