Prince Harry and other celebrities have filed applications with the Court of Appeal for permission to appeal a ruling that Daily Mail journalists did not tap their phones. The Duke of Sussex, Baroness Doreen Lawrence and Sir Elton John are among those challenging the dismissal of their claims against Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL).
A judge dismissed all the claims and ordered the group to pay the newspaper £9,544,355 in an interim payment while full costs are assessed. Prince Harry later described the trial as a 'whitewash'.
Claimants Disagree with Decisions
A spokesperson for Harry, Lady Lawrence, Sir Elton, his husband David Furnish and actresses Liz Hurley and Sadie Frost confirmed the filings. The spokesperson said: 'We confirm that the claimants have today filed applications with the Court of Appeal for permission to appeal the judgments of Mr Justice Nicklin in respect of his dismissal of their claims and the indemnity costs order.'
'The claimants respectfully disagree with those unprecedented decisions, which they consider to be legally and factually flawed.'
Allegations and Defence
Court staff confirmed on Friday that a bid to appeal against the rulings had been filed at the Court of Appeal. Barristers for the group had alleged at trial that private investigators, freelance journalists and staff at ANL carried out acts including voicemail interception, landline tapping and obtaining information by deception, also known as 'blagging'.
Lawyers for the publisher said that Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday journalists provided a 'compelling account of a pattern of legitimate sourcing of articles'. This includes friends and 'leaky' social circles, press officers and spokespeople, as well as previous reporting, freelance journalists and stories from other newspapers and news agencies.
