After their High Court defeat, Prince Harry and six other high-profile claimants have been ordered to hand over more than £9.5m (€11.1m) to the Daily Mail’s publisher by the end of next week as the first tranche of legal costs is set.
Harry was joined in the case by singer Elton John and actresses Sadie Frost and Liz Hurley, among others, in a lawsuit against Associated Newspapers Ltd over allegations of unlawful information-gathering.
The High Court in London directed the group of seven to pay £9,544,355 by next Friday, 28 August, as an interim contribution toward the publisher’s costs, with further hearings still to come to determine the final figure.
The sum is close to what Associated Newspapers — which also publishes the Mail On Sunday — had sought. The company asked the court for about £9.9m (€11.6m) as a payment on account, while lawyers for the claimants argued it should be set at roughly £7.9m (€9.2m).
Associated Newspapers has consistently rejected the allegations. The dispute was examined during an 11-week trial earlier this year, but the cases were dismissed last month when the judge threw out all the claims.
The issue returned to the High Court this week for a two-day hearing focused on costs, which the publisher says exceed £34m (€39.7m).
“The claimants and their advisers have been on notice, since the hearing, that this would be the date for payment on account,” Mr Justice Nicklin said today.
In his ruling, he described the claims as “speculative and substantially inferential”, saying they “lacked a proper evidential foundation”.
Mr Justice Nicklin also decided that Associated Newspapers’ costs should be assessed on an indemnity basis — an outcome the publisher had sought.
Last month, Nicholas Bacon KC, acting for the group of seven, warned that using that basis would be “very significant” and could leave his clients without sufficient insurance cover.
Responding today, the publisher hailed the decision as “another overwhelming victory for the Mail and its journalism”, and said it amounted to “a devastating critique of an attempt to destroy a newspaper and the reputations of its journalists, editors and executives”.
A spokesperson added: “The truth is that these outrageous claims should never have been brought. That they were pursued raises disturbing questions about the conduct of elements of the legal profession.”
The ruling follows news made public on Wednesday that Harry and his wife, the former actress Mehgan Markle, are moving back to the UK.
The couple moved to California more than six years ago during the Megxit crisis, but are set to return later this month, relocating to a non-royal residence outside London.
