Prince Harry and six other public figures could be forced to pay as much as £34.5 million to Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL) after a High Court judge issued an exceptional costs order following the failure of their privacy lawsuit. Please confirm all legal and political information with a trusted source.
The group which includes Sir Elton John, David Furnish, Sir Simon Hughes, Baroness Lawrence, Sadie Frost and Liz Hurley must pay an initial £9.54 million by next Friday. They have until 2 October to attempt to launch an appeal.
Mr Justice Nicklin, who dismissed the unlawful information‑gathering claims on 7 July, said the way the case was presented was “unreasonable to a high degree.” He ruled that ANL’s costs should be assessed on an indemnity basis, allowing the publisher to recover a significantly higher proportion of its legal expenses.
The claimants had insurance covering up to £16.2 million of ANL’s costs, but the judge’s ruling means the publisher may now seek to recover the full £34.5 million it says it spent defending the case leaving the group potentially liable for around £18 million.
Justice Nicklin criticised the claimants for failing to withdraw serious allegations when they no longer had evidence to support them.
“It is striking that not a single allegation of serious wrongdoing was voluntarily withdrawn,” he said. “Serious allegations of criminality or grave impropriety cannot properly be left hanging over individuals in that way.”
He added that the failure to withdraw unsupported claims was “not a proper or disciplined way to deal with serious allegations.”
In a statement, ANL called the ruling “a devastating critique of an attempt to destroy a newspaper and the reputations of its journalists, editors and executives.”
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