Harry and Elton appeal High Court privacy ruling and costs order

Prince Harry, Sir Elton John and three other high-profile figures have launched a legal bid to overturn a crushing defeat in their privacy battle against the Daily Mail’s publisher. According to the BBC News, the Duke of Sussex, alongside singer Sir Elton John, actress Elizabeth Hurley, Baroness Doreen Lawrence, Sadie Frost and David Furnish, have filed applications with the Court of Appeal seeking permission to challenge the High Court ruling ^[1].

The group lost a comprehensive case against Associated Newspapers Limited earlier this year, with Mr Justice Nicklin dismissing all allegations of unlawful information gathering. The Daily Mail reported that the judge had thrown out 97 allegations of hacking, bugging and blagging, describing the case as 'unreasonable to a high degree' ^[2]. This ruling triggered an indemnity costs order, potentially exposing the claimants to a joint legal bill of up to £34.5 million.

In August, the judge ordered the group to pay an initial sum of nearly £9.55 million while the final total was calculated, as confirmed by The Independent ^[3]. The claimants have now formally disagreed with both the dismissal of their claims and the subsequent costs order, describing the decisions as 'legally and factually flawed'.

The original trial, which spanned 11 weeks in London, saw Prince Harry testify that details in 14 articles proved journalists were listening in on phone calls. However, the judge accepted the testimony of Mail journalists, who described a pattern of 'legitimate sourcing' involving friends and 'leaky' social circles.

Notably, former Liberal Democrat justice minister Sir Simon Hughes, who was part of the original seven-claimant group, is not currently included in the appeal application. The BBC has contacted him to clarify his position ^[1]. The Court of Appeal must now decide whether to grant the group permission to proceed with the substantive appeal.