Overview
- The High Court dismissed the consolidated claims on Tuesday, with Mr Justice Nicklin concluding the claimants did not prove that Associated Newspapers obtained the challenged material unlawfully.
- Prince Harry joined other high-profile claimants including Baroness Doreen Lawrence, Elton John, Elizabeth Hurley and Sadie Frost in the action that alleged private investigators, phone interception and blagging were used from the 1990s through 2011.
- Harry and Baroness Lawrence issued a joint statement calling the judgment “a complete and obvious whitewash” while Associated Newspapers described the ruling as a vindication and said it will seek to recover its legal costs.
- The judgment, published as a lengthy written ruling after an 11-week trial, centers on article-specific sourcing and the civil standard of proof, a holding likely to make future privacy claims harder to win and to shape newsgathering litigation in the UK.
- The defeat comes during Harry’s UK visit for Invictus events and follows earlier, mixed outcomes in related cases, including a win against Mirror Group and a settlement with News Group, and a separate hearing will decide who pays the parties’ legal bills.