PRINCE HARRY AND SIX OTHERS ORDERED TO PAY £9.5M TO DAILY MAIL PUBLISHER

Prince Harry and six other public figures have been ordered to pay an initial £9.5 million to Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL), the publisher of the Daily Mail, following the dismissal of their High Court case alleging unlawful information gathering. High Court judge Mr Justice Nicklin ruled that the claimants must make the payment by 28 August. The group comprised Prince Harry, Sir Elton John, David Furnish, Sir Simon Hughes, Sadie Frost, Liz Hurley and Baroness Doreen Lawrence. ANL had requested an interim payment of more than £9.9 million, whilst lawyers for the claimants argued it should be just over £7.9 million.

The claimants alleged that ANL had carried out or commissioned unlawful activities including landline tapping, hiring private investigators to place listening devices in vehicles and obtaining private records through deception. ANL denied all allegations throughout a 45-day High Court trial in which Mr Justice Nicklin examined 57 stories, most published between 1997 and 2015. In his 436-page judgment delivered on 7 July, Mr Justice Nicklin dismissed all claims, finding the claimants had not proven their allegations. ANL's legal costs reached £34.5 million, whilst the claimants held an insurance policy covering £16 million.

The initial payment is the first of potentially larger sums to follow. Mr Justice Nicklin stated that remaining costs will be decided at future hearings. ANL described the judgment as an "overwhelming victory for the Daily Mail and its journalists, and for a free press generally", whilst Prince Harry and Baroness Doreen Lawrence said in a joint statement: "We came to Court seeking justice and accountability. But we have received neither."