London, United Kingdom. Associated Newspapers has asked Prince Harry and other high-profile claimants to make an interim payment of nearly £10 million after their privacy claims against the publisher of the Daily Mail were dismissed.
The request was made at a Wednesday hearing at London’s High Court on liability for legal costs.
Costs dispute
Earlier this month, the High Court ruled against Harry, singer Elton John and other British public figures who had alleged that Mail titles engaged in widespread unlawful activity, including phone hacking.
Associated’s lawyer, Antony White, argued that the claimants should pay costs on an indemnity basis, meaning the losing side would cover the publisher’s charges without a requirement that they be shown to be proportionate.
In written submissions, Associated sought an interim payment of nearly £10 million.
Arguments from both sides
White said the claimants had pursued broad and serious allegations without supporting evidence, describing the case as one designed to create “a banquet of litigation” against Associated.
Lawyers for the claimants said Associated had reported costs of £34.5 million, which they described as “simply extraordinary” and substantially above its agreed budget.
They offered an interim payment of £8 million by August 28 and said the claimants had insurance cover of up to £16 million.
The claimants accepted that their claims had been dismissed and that a standard costs order should follow, but opposed an indemnity costs order.
Previous ruling
Prince Harry, 41, called the earlier ruling a “complete and obvious whitewash”. Associated described it as an overwhelming victory for its newspapers and journalists, and for a free press.
Judge Matthew Nicklin said the claimants had needed to prove that information published about them had been obtained unlawfully. He found that they had failed to do so and that suspicion alone was insufficient.
