By Staff Reporter
UK court orders interim payment after celebrities lose privacy case against tabloid publisher
LONDON — Prince Harry and six other high-profile claimants have been ordered by a UK court to make an interim payment of £9.54 million ($13 million) to the publisher of the Daily Mail after losing a major privacy lawsuit.
The High Court ruled that the claimants must pay the money by 4pm on August 28 following their unsuccessful legal action against Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL), the publisher of the Daily Mail.
The group includes singer Elton John, his husband David Furnish, and actors Elizabeth Hurley and Sadie Frost. They had accused ANL of unlawful information-gathering practices, including allegedly bugging homes and vehicles, intercepting communications and obtaining private financial and medical information.
ANL denied the allegations.
The case followed an 11-week trial, with High Court judge Matthew Nicklin ruling on July 7 that the claimants had failed to prove their allegations against the publisher.
The latest hearing focused on legal costs rather than the original privacy claims.
ANL said its costs in defending the case had reached approximately £34.5 million by July 9. However, Judge Nicklin described the figure as exceptionally high and said there were concerns about whether all the costs claimed had been reasonably incurred.
The court has not yet determined the final amount the seven claimants will have to pay.
Nicklin rejected the claimants’ request for the costs to be assessed on a standard basis and instead favoured ANL’s argument for an indemnity basis, potentially increasing the amount they could ultimately be required to cover.
A separate costs judge will determine the final amount if the two sides cannot reach an agreement.
Meanwhile, the court has set October 2 as the deadline for the claimants to seek permission to appeal the July ruling.
Following the original judgment, Harry and campaigner Doreen Lawrence described the decision as a “complete and obvious whitewash”, signalling that the legal battle may not yet be over.
