Prince Harry and six other claimants ordered to pay Daily Mail nearly $13 million
Kyiv • UNN
After losing the case over the unlawful gathering of data, the seven claimants must pay ANL's interim legal costs. The final amount will be determined separately.
Prince Harry and six other claimants were ordered to pay Associated Newspapers Limited, the publisher of the Daily Mail and The Mail on Sunday, nearly $13 million as an interim contribution toward legal costs after losing a case over the unlawful gathering of personal information. UNN reports this, citing a ruling by the High Court of England and Wales and Reuters.
Details
Judge Matthew Nicklin ruled that the claimants must pay Associated Newspapers Limited nearly $13 million by 4 p.m. on August 28, 2026.
This concerns a joint payment by the seven claimants, not an amount that Prince Harry must personally pay.
In addition to the Duke of Sussex, the claimants in the case are:
- Baroness Doreen Lawrence;
- actress Elizabeth Hurley;
- singer Elton John;
- director David Furnish;
- politician Simon Hughes;
- actress Sadie Frost.
What is known about the case
The lawsuits against Associated Newspapers were filed in 2022. The claimants accused the publisher of unlawfully gathering private information, including through private investigators, obtaining confidential data by deception, phone tapping, and voicemail hacking.
Associated Newspapers denied all the allegations.
The main trial lasted 46 days—from January 19 to March 31, 2026. The court examined dozens of incidents related to publications in the company's outlets.
On July 7, the High Court dismissed all the claims. The judge concluded that the claimants had failed to prove that the information used for the publications had been obtained through unlawful methods.
The court also accepted Associated Newspapers journalists' explanations regarding the lawful sources from which the information had been obtained.
The publisher's costs may be significantly higher
Associated Newspapers said that its costs of defending the case had exceeded $47 million.
At the same time, the court has not yet determined the final amount that the claimants must reimburse. The judge called the claimed costs "exceptionally high" and noted that not all of them would necessarily be deemed reasonable.
ANL asked the court to order the claimants to pay more than $13.5 million as an interim contribution, while their lawyers proposed approximately $11 million. Ultimately, the court set the amount at $13 million.
If the parties do not agree on the final amount of the costs, it will be determined separately by a costs judge.
The court also allowed ANL to seek reimbursement of costs on the stricter indemnity basis. The court linked this decision to the manner in which the case was conducted and the seriousness of a number of allegations which, in the judge's view, were not sufficiently supported by evidence.
At the same time, the court specifically emphasized that it had not found any dishonesty on the part of the claimants themselves.
Representatives of Prince Harry and the other claimants may appeal both the July ruling in the case and the order concerning legal costs. They must file an application for permission to appeal by October 2, 2026.