Prince Harry and six other public figures could face a legal bill of up to £34.5 million after a High Court judge issued an exceptional costs ruling following their failed privacy case against the publisher of the Daily Mail.
According to BBC, the seven claimants, who also include Sir Elton John, David Furnish, Liz Hurley, Sir Simon Hughes, Baroness Doreen Lawrence and Sadie Frost, have been ordered to make an initial payment of £9.54 million to Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL) by next Friday.
The case concerned allegations of unlawful information-gathering by the publisher, which ANL denied. On 7 July, Mr Justice Nicklin dismissed the claims.
The judge has now ruled that ANL’s legal costs should be assessed on an indemnity basis, which generally allows a successful party to recover a greater proportion of its costs.
While Justice Nicklin described ANL’s claim for more than £34 million as excessive on its face, he declined to impose a ceiling on the amount the publisher could ultimately recover.
“I regard a claim for costs in excess of £34 million as, on its face, excessive and as giving rise to real concerns as to whether all of the costs now claimed by Associated were reasonably incurred and are reasonable in amount,” he said.
However, he added that imposing a fixed limit would risk being unfair and arbitrary.
The judge also criticised the seven claimants for failing to withdraw serious allegations that they were no longer pursuing.
He described their approach as “unreasonable to a high degree”, stressing that allegations of criminality or grave misconduct should not remain on record without a proper evidential basis.
ANL welcomed the ruling, describing it as “a devastating critique” of what it called an attempt to damage the newspaper and the reputations of its journalists, editors and executives.
The claimants had insurance covering up to £16.2 million of ANL’s costs if they lost the case. However, the latest ruling means the publisher can seek to recover costs beyond that amount.
ANL has said its total legal costs could reach approximately £34.5 million, potentially leaving the claimants facing an additional bill of around £18 million beyond the insured amount.
The precise figure will be determined through further costs hearings.
Former specialist costs judge Colin Campbell said the ruling was a significant victory for ANL because the publisher would no longer be restricted by the previously approved costs budget.
However, he noted that the judge’s criticism of ANL’s £34.5 million estimate could prove important when the final costs are assessed.
The seven claimants have until 2 October to seek permission to appeal the substantive judgment.
Sir Simon Hughes said that he was “disappointed” by the judgment and said he was considering whether to appeal either the original decision, the costs ruling, or both.
Prince Harry and Baroness Lawrence previously described the July judgment as “a complete and obvious whitewash”.
The case attracted significant attention during the trial, with Prince Harry and the other claimants giving evidence alongside numerous current and former Associated Newspapers journalists and executives.
The latest ruling comes days after Prince Harry and Meghan Markle announced plans to spend an extended period in the UK, with their children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, due to begin school there in September.
