Prince Harry and other prominent individuals have been ordered by London’s High Court to make an interim payment of £9.54 million ($17.9 million Cdn) towards the legal expenses of the publisher of the Daily Mail. This ruling comes after they lost their privacy lawsuits. Last month, Judge Matthew Nicklin dismissed the case brought by Prince Harry and others, refuting claims that the Mail titles had been involved in widespread illegal activities like phone hacking.
According to Friday’s ruling, the outstanding amount must be paid on an “indemnity basis.” This means that as the unsuccessful party, Prince Harry and the other claimants are required to contribute to the publisher’s legal costs without the need for the publisher to demonstrate that these costs were reasonable and proportionate. The publisher’s costs amounted to £34 million ($63.7 million Cdn, and it is believed that the losing claimants are insured for approximately half of that sum.
Notable figures like Elton John, David Furnish, Sadie Frost, Elizabeth Hurley, Simon Hughes, and Doreen Lawrence were also involved in lawsuits against Associated Newspapers. The publisher had previously hailed the judge’s ruling as a significant victory for its newspaper and journalists, emphasizing the importance of a free press. In contrast, Prince Harry criticized the ruling as a blatant whitewash.
Prince Harry and Meghan recently announced their plans to return to the UK with their children, following a period in British Columbia and southern California. This legal case marks the conclusion of a series of lawsuits filed by Prince Harry against tabloid publishers over alleged unlawful practices.
In a previous case, Prince Harry was awarded £140,600 (about $240,430 Cdn) after the High Court determined that he was a victim of phone hacking and other illicit information gathering by journalists at Mirror Group Newspapers. The court also noted that News Group in the UK had issued a formal apology to Prince Harry for the unauthorized access to his private information. Additionally, the court dismissed claims of a secret agreement between Murdoch’s newspaper group and Buckingham Palace to prevent royals from pursuing legal action.
The ruling document can be accessed here for further details.
