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Harry group must pay Daily Mail £9.5m
Prince Harry and six co-claimants must make an interim legal-costs payment after losing their privacy case.
What happened
A High Court judge ordered Prince Harry and six co-claimants to make an interim £9.54m payment to Associated Newspapers, publisher of the Daily Mail. The order followed the July dismissal of their privacy claims alleging unlawful information gathering. The payment is due within a week, while total recoverable costs remain to be assessed.
Numbers
- £9.54mInitial costs payment ordered — Interim, not final liability
- £34.5mPublisher's claimed defence costs — Court raised concerns over amount
- £16.2mInsurance cover for publisher costs — Further exposure remains possible
Questions
- What was the original case about?
- They alleged that investigators intercepted voicemail, tapped phones and used deception to obtain private information for the publisher.
- Why did costs exceed the agreed limit?
- The judge treated the case as exceptional, criticising the way the claims were presented as unreasonable to a high degree.
- How could this affect claimants?
- Their insurance covered only part of the publisher’s claimed bill, leaving them exposed if further costs are allowed.
- When did the dispute begin?
- The claimants began legal action years earlier, alleging long-running conduct involving private investigators, staff and freelance journalists at the publisher.
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Support and opposition
Who supports this, and why
Claimants — The publisher used unlawful methods to obtain private information, and the court should have accepted their evidence.
Who opposes this, and why
Publisher — The allegations lacked credible evidence, and the court correctly dismissed every claim of unlawful information gathering.
The catch
The order leaves the final amount recoverable unresolved after a later costs assessment.
An appeal may still be sought.