A further hearing in the Duke of Sussex's High Court claim against the publisher of the Daily Mail is set to begin on Wednesday. Prince Harry joins six other high-profile individuals in pursuing legal action against Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL).
The prominent group includes Sir Elton John, his husband David Furnish, and actress Liz Hurley. Also involved are actress Sadie Frost, campaigner Baroness Doreen Lawrence and politician Sir Simon Hughes.
The claimants have accused ANL of allegedly carrying out or commissioning unlawful activities including hiring private investigators to place listening devices inside cars and "blagging" private records. They also claim the publisher commissioned burglaries to order and accessed and recorded private phone conversations.
Publisher's response
ANL firmly denies the allegations and is defending the legal action. The publisher has previously described the claims as "lurid" and "simply preposterous".
The two-day hearing before Mr Justice Nicklin is expected to begin on Wednesday and will deal with preliminary issues in the claims. No findings have yet been made regarding the allegations, with the trial of the claims potentially held in 2026 and lasting up to nine weeks.
Previous court developments
In November 2023, Mr Justice Nicklin dismissed ANL's bid for a ruling in its favour before trial after the publisher's lawyers argued the claims were brought "far too late". Government ministers ruled in March 2024 that confidential documents from the Leveson Inquiry relating to Daily Mail records of payments to private investigators could be disclosed.
Last November, the court heard from ANL's lawyers that Baroness Lawrence was "alerted" to a potential legal claim by a text from the Duke of Sussex in January 2022. She met lawyers Harry had been working with a few days later.
Budget and document disputes
In January, Mr Justice Nicklin and Judge David Cook said the two sides' proposed budgets totalling more than £38.8 million were "manifestly excessive and therefore disproportionate". Mr Justice Nicklin also ruled in July that Harry's lawyers must hand over documents relating to alleged payments made for evidence.
The judge said those taking legal action had adopted an "inconsistent and incoherent approach to disclosure of documents relating to payments to potential witnesses and/or other inducements". He ordered that lawyers for the claimants should conduct searches to identify documents ANL could rely on "in advancing a case that potential witnesses have been given or offered financial incentives to provide information or evidence in support of allegations" of unlawful information gathering.
Harry was previously awarded £140,600 in damages after suing Mirror Group Newspapers and received "substantial damages" after settling a claim against News Group Newspapers in January this year.
Sources used: "PA Media" Note: This article has been edited with the help of Artificial Intelligence.
