Prince Harry and Claimants Ordered to Pay £9.54 Million in Legal Costs

Prince Harry and five other claimants face a significant financial setback after a High Court ruling ordered them to pay £9.54 million in legal costs to Associated Newspapers, the publisher of the Daily Mail. The group, which also includes Sir Elton John, David Furnish, Sadie Frost, Elizabeth Hurley, Baroness Doreen Lawrence, and Sir Simon Hughes, has just seven days to make the payment.

This decision follows their unsuccessful conclusion to a protracted legal battle. The claimants had accused Associated Newspapers of unlawful information-gathering practices, including phone hacking and other illicit methods of obtaining private data. However, in early July, Judge Matthew Nicklin dismissed these allegations.

Judge Nicklin made a rare decision to calculate the costs on an indemnity basis, which is more favorable to the winning party. He stated that the manner in which the case was conducted went far beyond the usual scope of civil proceedings, describing the approach as "highly unreasonable." The judge noted that serious accusations were made without adequate evidential support, though he did not find the claimants themselves acted unfairly. Associated Newspapers, which spent £34.4 million during the four-year legal fight, may seek a larger portion of these costs, as the final amount is yet to be determined and no upper limit has been set.

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The cumulative effect of all these circumstances places this case far outside the usual framework. The conduct was highly unreasonable.