Prince Harry and six other prominent figures could be liable for legal costs of up to £50m after the High Court dismissed their case against the publisher of the Daily Mail. The group had alleged that Associated Newspapers Ltd (ANL) used unlawful methods to gather information for stories about them.
Mr Justice Nicklin’s 436-page ruling rejected all claims, stating that the claimants had not proved any information was obtained unlawfully. He noted that the court could not infer wrongdoing where a legitimate and realistic legal avenue for sourcing existed. The judge also dismissed suggestions that senior Mail figures, including former editor Paul Dacre, had lied to the Leveson inquiry.
The claimants – including Doreen Lawrence, Sir Elton John, David Furnish, Elizabeth Hurley, Sadie Frost and Simon Hughes – had accused the publisher of systematic unlawful information-gathering. ANL’s legal team described the allegations as “lurid” and “preposterous”, arguing that stories were sourced legitimately from press officers, prior articles or social circles.
In a joint statement, Prince Harry and Ms Lawrence called the verdict a “complete and obvious whitewash”, while ANL hailed it as “an overwhelming victory” for the Daily Mail and press freedom. A spokesperson said no credible evidence had ever been presented for the most serious allegations, including bugging cars and homes or illicitly accessing bank accounts.
ANL now intends to recover its costs from the claimants. The case had centred on 55 articles published between 1997 and 2015. It was also damaged by the discrediting of key witness Gavin Burrows, whose statement the judge found unreliable.
