Prince Harry arrived at London's Royal Courts of Justice on Monday morning for the start of a nine-week trial against the publisher of the Daily Mail. The Duke of Sussex is suing Associated Newspapers Limited over allegations of unlawful information gathering spanning decades.
Harry entered the court at 10.05am, ahead of proceedings beginning at 10.30am. He joins a prominent group of claimants including Sir Elton John, his husband David Furnish, Baroness Doreen Lawrence, politician Sir Simon Hughes, and actresses Sadie Frost and Liz Hurley. The group launched their legal action in 2022, naming dozens of journalists.
The allegations
The claimants accuse ANL of carrying out or commissioning a wide range of unlawful activities. These include hiring private investigators to place listening devices inside cars, illegally accessing private phone conversations and voicemail messages, obtaining medical records, and "blagging" private information.
The alleged unlawful acts took place between 1993 and 2011, with some activities continuing until 2018, according to the claimants' barrister David Sherborne. He stated in written submissions: "They range through a period from 1993 to 2011, even continuing beyond until 2018."
Publisher denies wrongdoing
Associated Newspapers Limited, which publishes both the Daily Mail and the Mail on Sunday, has strongly denied all allegations. The publisher attempted to have the cases dismissed in 2023, with ANL's barrister Adrian Beltrami KC arguing in written submissions the cases were "stale" and came too late.
Mr Justice Nicklin rejected that bid in November 2023. He ruled ANL had not delivered a "knockout blow" and that the claimants had a "real prospect" of demonstrating the publisher concealed facts that would have allowed earlier claims.
Harry's legal track record
The Duke of Sussex has pursued similar legal actions against other newspaper groups. He won £140,600 in damages from Mirror Group Newspapers in 2023 and settled a claim against News Group Newspapers, publisher of the Sun and the now-defunct News Of The World, last January.
Harry will give evidence in the current trial on Thursday. Mr Justice Nicklin presides over the nine-week proceedings.
Note: This article was created with Artificial Intelligence (AI).
