The Duke of Sussex, Sir Elton John, and Baroness Doreen Lawrence have lost their High Court claims against the Daily Mail's publisher over allegations of unlawful information gathering. The group of seven household names, including David Furnish, Liz Hurley, Sadie Frost, and Sir Simon Hughes, alleged acts such as voicemail interception, landline tapping, and obtaining information by deception (blagging) by private investigators, freelance journalists, and staff at Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL). ANL strongly denied the claims and argued they were brought too late.
Judge dismisses all claims in 436-page ruling
Mr Justice Nicklin dismissed all claims on Tuesday, stating in the 436-page ruling: "For the reasons given in this judgment, each of the claimants' claims is dismissed." He emphasized that the claimants had not proven the allegations of unlawful information gathering. "Whilst the standard of proof remains the balance of probabilities, the more serious, and inherently less probable, the allegation, the more cogent the evidence required to prove it," he said. The judge also noted that the claimants' case essentially invited the court to conclude that because information was private and Associated could not explain how it was sourced, the article must have been unlawfully sourced, which is not permissible.
ANL celebrates 'overwhelming victory'
Following the judgment, ANL called it an "overwhelming victory" and a "magnificent vindication of the Daily Mail's journalism" in a case with legal costs exceeding £50 million. The publisher stated: "Mr Justice Nicklin today cleared the Daily Mail and The Mail On Sunday, and dismissed every single one of the 97 allegations made by the claimants. In every case, the judge accepted the honesty of our journalists' evidence on how they sourced their stories." ANL added: "The reputations of our decent and hard-working journalists were terribly impugned, and today they have been exonerated. As the judgment clearly shows, every single article was legitimately sourced."
Harry's evidence and timing of claims
During his cross-examination in January, Harry said he could not complain about some of the 14 articles in his case at the time "because of the institution I was in." The trial also heard arguments over whether the cases were brought within the six-year legal limit. Mr Justice Nicklin ruled that even if unlawful information gathering had been proven, Sir Simon Hughes and Sadie Frost's claims were brought too late. The decision comes as Harry returned to the UK for five days of appearances, including marking the one-year countdown to the 2027 Invictus Games. A further hearing lasting two days from July 29 is expected.
