Harry’s Lawsuit Against Mail Publisher Heads to High Court

The latest phase in the Duke of Sussex’s lawsuit against the publisher of the Daily Mail is set to begin on Tuesday at the High Court. Prince Harry is among several prominent figures, including Baroness Doreen Lawrence, Sir Elton John, his husband David Furnish, actresses Sadie Frost and Liz Hurley, and politician Sir Simon Hughes, who are taking legal action against Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL).

The group has accused ANL of engaging in illegal activities, such as hiring private investigators to install listening devices in cars, accessing private records, conducting burglaries, and tapping private phone conversations.

ANL denies the accusations and is defending the case, dismissing the claims as exaggerated and absurd.

The hearing, scheduled for two days before Mr. Justice Nicklin, is expected to address various preliminary issues in the case, though no conclusions will be drawn regarding the allegations at this stage.

Prince Harry made an unexpected appearance at the Royal Courts of Justice in London during a hearing in March of the previous year, where his legal team argued that the plaintiffs were misled and unaware of the unlawful activities being conducted against them, having trusted ANL’s denials of any wrongdoing.

ANL had requested that the judge dismiss the case without trial, claiming the lawsuit had been filed too late. However, in a ruling last November, Mr. Justice Nicklin stated that ANL had not provided sufficient grounds to dismiss the case, allowing the legal proceedings to continue.

In March of this year, government ministers permitted the release of confidential documents from the Leveson Inquiry regarding Daily Mail payments to private investigators. This change in restrictions, made by then culture secretary Lucy Frazer and home secretary James Cleverly, was intended to support the ongoing legal action, with the ministers stating that the public interest in a fair and swift resolution of the case outweighed any other concerns.

The hearing will begin at 10:30 a.m. at the Royal Courts of Justice.