Prince Harry, High-Profile Figures Ordered to Pay £9.5 Million in Legal Fees

Mr Justice Nicklin, a High Court judge, issued a judgment on July 7, dismissing all cases. He found each claimant failed to prove their pleaded allegations of unlawful information gathering against Associated Newspapers Ltd.

Associated Newspapers Ltd reportedly spent £34.5 million defending against allegations, including phone tapping and the hiring of private investigators.

Mr Justice Nicklin ordered an interim payment ahead of a future hearing. This hearing will determine the final total legal costs.

The High Court case involved an 11-week trial in London earlier this year. The trial is also understood to have lasted 46 days in 2026.

The claimants' legal action is understood to have begun in March 2022. Allegations of unlawful information gathering were made against Associated Newspapers Ltd.

On July 7, Mr Justice Nicklin reportedly exonerated the Mail’s journalists and dismissed allegations of hacking, bugging, and blagging. He stated the claimants had not proven the allegations of unlawful information gathering.

The judge found that none of the claimants' allegations were upheld. He rejected attempts to prove claims by broad inference where a legitimate and realistic lawful source pathway remained, or where article-specific evidence did not prove unlawful acquisition.

Associated Newspapers claims serious criminal allegations of phone hacking were sprung on wrongly-accused journalists without any foundation. Some aspects were deemed 'not only unfair' but 'in flagrant breach' of the judge's repeated warnings to the claimants' lawyers.

The group of claimants, including Baroness Doreen Lawrence, Sir Elton John, David Furnish, Sadie Frost, Liz Hurley, and Sir Simon Hughes, had argued for an interim payment of just over £7.9 million.

Sir Simon Hughes's representative claims he did not 'plan to target' Associated Newspapers.

Antony White KC indicated that Sir Simon Hughes had accused the publisher 'of the most heinous criminal acts' and had never withdrawn any of his allegations.

However, Antony White KC claims Sir Simon Hughes had accused the publisher 'of the most heinous criminal acts' and had never withdrawn any of his allegations.

The initial costs are understood to be covered by the claimants' insurance. Associated Newspapers claims their insurance policy only covers them for £16.2 million.

ANL's total costs reportedly amounted to over £34.5 million. The claimants' own legal costs are thought likely to be at least £20 million, potentially leaving a significant shortfall.