The Duke of Sussex, Sir Elton John, and Baroness Doreen Lawrence have lost their High Court claims against the Daily Mail's publisher, Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL), over allegations of unlawful information gathering. The group of seven claimants, which also included David Furnish, Liz Hurley, Sadie Frost, and Sir Simon Hughes, alleged acts such as voicemail interception, landline tapping, and obtaining information by deception, known as 'blagging', carried out by private investigators, freelance journalists, and ANL staff.
Judge Dismisses All Claims
In a 436-page ruling on Tuesday, Mr Justice Nicklin dismissed all claims, stating that none of the seven had proven the allegations. He wrote: 'For the reasons given in this judgment, each of the claimants’ claims is dismissed.' The judge emphasized that the claimants had failed to provide cogent evidence to support their allegations, noting: 'Whilst the standard of proof remains the balance of probabilities, the more serious, and inherently less probable, the allegation, the more cogent the evidence required to prove it.'
ANL's Response
Following the judgment, ANL described it as an 'overwhelming victory' and a 'magnificent vindication of the Daily Mail’s journalism'. The publisher stated: 'Mr Justice Nicklin today cleared the Daily Mail and The Mail On Sunday, and dismissed every single one of the 97 allegations made by the claimants. In every case, the judge accepted the honesty of our journalists’ evidence on how they sourced their stories.' ANL added that the reputations of their journalists were 'terribly impugned' and 'today they have been exonerated'. The legal costs of the case exceeded £50 million.
Key Evidence and Testimony
The trial in London involved dozens of witnesses, including Harry, who gave evidence in January. During cross-examination, Harry said he could not complain about some of the 14 articles in his case 'because of the institution I was in'. The judge noted that Harry 'wished the court to understand the personal impact of the matters in issue'. ANL editor-in-chief Paul Dacre also testified, and after the ruling, he called the case a 'trumped-up action' that 'should never have been brought to trial'. He expressed disbelief that Baroness Lawrence, for whom the Daily Mail had campaigned for justice for her son, would 'turn on both the paper, and the brilliant reporter who campaigned for justice for her son for over two decades'.
Defence and Timing Issues
ANL's defence argued that journalists had a 'compelling account of a pattern of legitimate sourcing of articles', including from friends, 'leaky' social circles, press officers, and previous reporting. The court also heard arguments about whether the cases were brought in time, as the law requires legal action within six years of discovering a potential claim. Mr Justice Nicklin ruled that even if unlawful information gathering had been proven, claims by Sir Simon Hughes and Sadie Frost were brought too late.
Further Proceedings
The Duke of Sussex returned to the UK on Monday evening ahead of five days of appearances, including marking the one-year countdown to the 2027 Invictus Games. He will not stay at Buckingham Palace; his spokesman said it was 'disappointing' that the King's offer had been 'withdrawn at the last moment', with the looming judgment cited as the reason. A further hearing is expected to take place over two days from July 29.
