Prince Harry, alongside a high-profile group of celebrities including Sir Elton John and Baroness Doreen Lawrence, has formally launched a bid to appeal a crushing defeat in their legal battle against Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL).
The group of claimants, which also includes David Furnish, Liz Hurley, and Sadie Frost, has filed applications with the Court of Appeal, seeking to overturn a series of rulings made by Mr Justice Nicklin. The judge previously dismissed their claims of unlawful information-gathering—including allegations of phone hacking—against the publisher of the Daily Mail and The Mail on Sunday.
The legal fallout from the initial trial has been significant. Beyond the dismissal of their claims, the court ordered the claimants to pay an interim payment of £9,544,355 toward the publisher’s legal costs. The ruling followed the judge’s decision that the newspaper group had not engaged in the illicit activities alleged by the claimants.
In the wake of the initial judgment, Prince Harry publicly condemned the trial as a “whitewash.” The coalition of high-profile figures remains resolute in their stance, issuing a joint statement via a spokesperson to confirm their next move.
“We confirm that the claimants have today filed applications with the Court of Appeal for permission to appeal the judgments of Mr Justice Nicklin in respect of his dismissal of their claims and the indemnity costs order,” the statement read. “The claimants respectfully disagree with those unprecedented decisions, which they consider to be legally and factually flawed.”
Court staff confirmed on Friday that the documentation for the appeal had been officially received.
The original lawsuit centered on explosive allegations that ANL journalists and their associates had employed private investigators and freelance reporters to intercept voicemails, tap landlines, and secure personal data through deception, a practice commonly referred to as “blagging.”
However, during the trial, lawyers for the publisher mounted a robust defense, arguing that the Daily Mail and The Mail on Sunday relied on legitimate journalism. The defense team provided evidence of a “pattern of legitimate sourcing,” citing information gathered from press officers, social circles, previously published reports, and independent freelance journalists. The publisher maintained that their reporting was the result of standard industry practices rather than the systemic unlawful conduct claimed by the high-profile plaintiffs.
The Court of Appeal will now decide whether there are sufficient grounds for the case to be heard again, setting the stage for what is expected to be a prolonged and high-stakes legal confrontation. With the initial costs already reaching nearly £10 million, the financial and reputational stakes for both the Duke of Sussex and the newspaper group remain immense as the legal battle enters this new, critical phase.
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