daily

Aug. 21 (UPI) — Prince Harry, Sir Elton John, Liz Hurley and four others who accused the Daily Mail of improper reporting tactics and privacy violations have been ordered by the court to pay the publisher $13 million in legal costs by Aug. 28.

Judge Justice Nicklin ruled on Friday that the claims made by the claimants were “unreasonable to a high degree” and they should have to pay more than what was agreed upon previously. They have until Oct. 2 to file an appeal.

Nicklin dismissed the claims against Associated Newspapers Limited, the publisher of the Daily Mail, last month.

The claimants were insured to cover up to $22.1 million of ANL’s legal costs. ANL says it incurred about $47 million in legal costs.

Nicklin’s ruling on Friday means that ANL does not need to show that the costs it incurred were reasonable and proportionate.

“The claims, and the manner in which they were brought, pleaded, pursued, maintained and publicly advanced, involved a combination of circumstances and conduct which took the litigation outside the ordinary and reasonable conduct of civil proceedings,” Nicklin said in his ruling.

Nicklin did not put a limit on the costs that the claimants may have to pay to ANL, though this does not mean that ANL can recover all of its costs. Nicklin did say the costs reported to the court are “excessive,” “striking” and “largely unexplained.”

He explained that he came to this ruling, in part because of the “speculative and substantially inferential character of the claims at their origin,” the “exceptional breadth” of the cases and the “public presentation of allegations of serious criminality and impropriety which were not ultimately established.”

Nicklin added that the claimants did not reassess their allegations when evidence required them to do so.

“The truth is that these outrageous claims should never have been brought,” ANL said in a statement. “That they were pursued raises disturbing questions about the conduct of elements of the legal profession.”

Prince Harry and a group of six other high-profile figures have been ordered to make an initial payment of £9.54m to the Daily Mail’s publisher after they lost their High Court privacy case.

The seven claimants, also including Sir Elton John and Liz Hurley, must pay the initial figure by 28 August – and could potentially pay up to £25m more after that in a victory for Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL).

The group had sued ANL over allegations of unlawful information-gathering, which the publisher had strenuously denied.

On 7 July, Judge Mr Justice Nicklin dismissed the claims and said the public figures had failed to prove the allegations.

It comes just days after the Duke and Duchess announced their plan to return to the UK, with their children Prince Archie, seven, and Princess Lilibet, five, enrolled to start school in September.

The seven claimants who have been ordered to pay an initial £9.5m in the coming week are Prince Harry, Sir Elton John and his husband David Furnish, Sir Simon Hughes, Sadie Frost, Liz Hurley, and Baroness Doreen Lawrence.

During the trial, dozens of people gave evidence including Prince Harry and the other claimants. The Duke of Sussex flew in from the US to attend court in person.

Many current and former Associated Newspapers journalists and executives gave evidence denying illegal activity.

In a joint statement following the judge’s ruling last month, Prince Harry and Baroness Doreen Lawrence, another claimant and peer whose son Stephen was murdered in 1993, said: “We came to Court seeking justice and accountability. But we have received neither.”

“It is a complete and obvious whitewash, but sadly not altogether unexpected”, the pair added.

ANL had asked for more than £9.9 million as an interim payment ahead of future hearings to decide its legal costs in depth.

However, lawyers for the claimants said the interim payment should be just over £7.9 million.

Mr Justice Nicklin previously said the claimants would need to pay the interim payment on August 28.

This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly. Please refresh the page for the fullest version.

You can receive Breaking News on a smartphone or tablet via the BBC News App. You can also follow @BBCBreaking on X, external to get the latest alerts.

Available for over a year

Joe Hart, Chris Sutton and Adam Crafton are with Mark Chapman to look ahead to the Premier League season, can they cover all 20 clubs in this episode of the Monday Night Club? That depends on whether you count Chris Sutton’s predicted Premier League table.

They reflect on Manchester City’s performance in their Community Shield defeat to Arsenal, what it takes to defend a Premier League title, and whether Xabi Alonso can repeat Antonio Conte’s feat of taking Chelsea from a club that finished tenth to title winners in the following season.

Plus, Hull City assistant head coach Dean Holden discusses their preparations for a return to the top flight.

01:39 – Takeaways from Manchester City’s Community Shield defeat
17:28 – What is so difficult about defending a Premier League title?
21:47 – Can Chelsea challenge for the title?
32:00 – Hull City assistant Dean Holden
38:50 – Coventry and Ipswich’s survival hopes
43:03 – Will Aston Villa start the season with two ‘starting’ goalkeepers?
45:13 – Which club has the most potential to under deliver this season?

Programme WebsiteShow less