UK court orders Prince Harry, Elton John and others to pay £9.5 million to 'Daily Mail' tabloid

A UK court ordered Prince Harry and six others on Friday, August 21, to pay an initial £9.5 million ($13 million) after they lost their privacy case against the publisher of British tabloid the Daily Mail. The court said the prince and six other high-profile figures, who lost their unlawful information gathering and privacy invasions claim against Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL), must make the payment within a week.

The claimants, who include Elton John, his husband David Furnish, actors Elizabeth Hurley and Sadie Frost, accused the Mail of bugging their cars and homes, listening into calls and accessing bank accounts and medical records. ANL had denied all the allegations. After an emotional 11-week trial, judge Matthew Nicklin sided with the publisher in a ruling handed down on July 7, concluding the "claimants failed to prove their pleaded allegations."

After a further two-day hearing over costs, he made Friday's initial costs decision. "The Court ordered the claimants make an interim payment of £9,544,355" by 4 pm local time on August 28, a published summary stated.

It noted ANL had said its total costs defending itself had reached about £34.5 million by July 9, which the court described as "exceptionally high" and "unprecedented." Nicklin said ANL's claim for £34.5 million appeared "excessive and (...) giving rise to real concerns as to whether all of the costs now claimed by Associated were reasonably incurred."

However, the ruling noted the High Court had not determined how much of those costs the claimants must ultimately pay. "The issue before the court was the basis on which costs should be assessed, not the amount recoverable," the summary stated. "If the amount is not agreed, that question will be determined separately by a costs judge."

Nicklin rejected requests by Harry and the other celebrities to pay on a standard basis, instead favoring arguments by ANL that its costs should be repaid on a stricter so-called indemnity basis. That is set to hike the share of the costs the seven are liable for. The summary also noted the court had set a timetable for the claimants to request permission to appeal the July 7 decision, which must be filed by October 2.

In a joint statement following the judge's ruling last month, Harry and campaigner Doreen Lawrence called it "a complete and obvious whitewash."