Prince Harry and others ordered to pay millions in Daily Mail legal costs
Prince Harry and five other claimants face a legal bill of up to £34.5m after losing their privacy case against the Daily Mail's publisher.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story.
The High Court has ordered Prince Harry, Elton John and five other high profile claimants to make an initial payment of more than £9 million to the publisher of the Daily Mail, after they lost their privacy case earlier this year. The judge, Mr Justice Nicklin, was scathing about the claimants' conduct, describing it as "unreasonable to a high degree". The ruling means the group could ultimately face the full legal bill of up to £34.5 million.
The case centred on allegations that journalists at Associated Newspapers, which owns the Daily Mail, used unlawful information gathering to obtain stories. The claimants alleged that executives had lied to the Leveson Public Inquiry, but the judge accepted the publisher's arguments that the case had been flawed from the start. A key witness, a private detective, was discredited during the trial, and other allegations fell apart.
Associated Newspapers said the judgment was a "devastating critique of an attempt to destroy a newspaper". The Duke of Sussex has not responded publicly, but the first £16 million of the bill is covered by insurance. The judge warned the Mail Group that it might not get everything it wants, but today's ruling means it will receive far more than the Duke had bargained for.
In other news, the Food Standards Agency has warned young children, people over 65, and those with underlying health conditions to avoid undercooked eggs when eating out, following a salmonella outbreak. The agency stressed that the outbreak is not linked to British eggs, which are safe to eat, but most likely to imported eggs. So far there have been 207 cases, almost all in England, and one death.
The Met Office has also warned that the El Niño weather phenomenon developing in the Pacific Ocean is set to be the strongest in more than a century, triggering intense storms, winds and rainfall across the UK this autumn. It is also very likely that next year will be the hottest on record globally, combining with the effects of human-induced climate change.
On screen
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Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, mapped by channel. Ordered by how many channels carried each claim.
| Claim | BBC One |
|---|---|
| A court ordered Prince Harry and five other claimants to make an initial payment of over £9 million to the Daily Mail's publisher. | |
| The judge ruled that the claimants' conduct was unreasonable to a high degree. | |
| The total legal bill in the case could reach £34.5 million. |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
The channel led with the Prince Harry legal case, providing detailed analysis of the financial implications and the judge's criticism. It also covered other national stories including the egg safety warning and the El Niño weather forecast, but did not mention the Greenock migration story at all.
- “Prince Harry, Elton John and five other high profile claimants have been ordered to make an initial payment of more than nine million pounds to the publisher of the Daily Mail.”
- “The judge was scathing, describing the conduct of the claimants as unreasonable to a high degree.”
- “The Daily Mail's publishers Associated Newspapers says the ruling is a devastating critique of an attempt to destroy a newspaper.”
Broadcast Timeline
News broadcasts tracked for this story, in time order.