- Britain's Prince Harry and six others must pay more than £9.5m (£11.1m) to the Daily Mail's publisher by the end of next week after the first round of legal costs was decided following their failed High Court case.
- The High Court in London has ordered the group of seven to pay £9,544,355 by next Friday, 28 August, as an initial contribution to the publisher's costs ahead of further hearings to determine the total sum.
- This week the matter returned to the High Court for a two-day hearing over the publisher's costs which stand at more than £34m (£39.7m).
- Today, the publisher welcomed the ruling as "another overwhelming victory for the Mail and its journalism", claiming it was "a devastating critique of an attempt to destroy a newspaper and the reputations of its journalists, editors and executives".
- The amount was close to the £9.9m (£11.6m) sought by Associated Newspapers, which also publishes the Mail On Sunday, while lawyers for the claimants urged that the amount be set at around £7.9m (£9.2m).
- Mr Justice Nicklin said: "The claimants and their advisers have been on notice, since the hearing, that this would be the date for payment on account." He criticised the claims as being "speculative and substantially inferential" adding that they "lacked a proper evidential foundation".
Prince Harry and six others have been ordered to pay £9,544,355 to the Daily Mail's publisher after a High Court ruling deemed their claims against the newspaper as lacking a proper evidential foundation. The payment is due by 28 August as an interim contribution to the publisher's costs, which exceed £34 million.2
The judge, Mr Justice Nicklin, criticized the claims as "speculative and substantially inferential," emphasizing that they did not meet the necessary evidential standards. He also ruled that the publisher's costs would be assessed on an indemnity basis, a decision that could significantly impact the claimants' financial liability.
The publisher, Associated Newspapers, expressed satisfaction with the ruling, labeling it as "another overwhelming victory for the Mail and its journalism." They argued that the claims were unfounded and raised serious concerns about the legal profession's conduct. A spokesperson stated, "The truth is that these outrageous claims should never have been brought."
The initial payment amount was close to the £9.9 million sought by the publisher, while the claimants had requested a lower figure of around £7.9 million. The case highlights ongoing tensions between high-profile individuals and media outlets, particularly regarding privacy and journalistic practices.
“The High Court set the payment at £9,544,355, due by 28 August, as an initial contribution toward the publisher's costs, which exceed £34m. Mr Justice Nicklin criticized the claims as 'speculative and substantially inferential', lacking a proper evidential foundation.”
