Prince Harry and six others ordered to pay initial £9.5m to Daily Mail publisher

Prince Harry and six other prominent individuals, including Sir Elton John and Liz Hurley, have been ordered to pay an initial £9.54 million in legal costs to the publisher of the Daily Mail. This significant sum follows their unsuccessful High Court privacy case against Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL).

The seven claimants had accused ANL of unlawful information-gathering practices. However, on July 7th, Judge Mr Justice Nicklin dismissed all claims, stating the public figures failed to substantiate their allegations. The judge further imposed an exceptional order for the group to cover up to £34.5 million of ANL's costs, citing the manner in which the case was brought, including unsubstantiated claims that ANL executives had lied to the Leveson public inquiry.

ANL welcomed the ruling, describing it in a statement as "a devastating critique of an attempt to destroy a newspaper and the reputations of its journalists, editors and executives." The publisher's victory comes shortly after the Duke and Duchess of Sussex announced plans to return to the UK, with their children reportedly set to start school in September.

The claimants, who also include Sir Elton John's husband David Furnish, Sir Simon Hughes, Sadie Frost, and Baroness Doreen Lawrence, have until October 2nd to file an appeal. The judge ruled that ANL's costs should be assessed on an indemnity basis, a more favorable method for the publisher regarding cost recovery, except where specific prior orders were made.

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a devastating critique of an attempt to destroy a newspaper and the reputations of its journalists, editors and executives