A High Court judge has ordered seven high-profile claimants, including the Duke of Sussex and Sir Elton John, to make an initial payment of £9.54 million (about $13 million) to Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL), the publisher of the Daily Mail, following the collapse of their privacy lawsuit against the group.
Mr Justice Nicklin handed down the written ruling on Friday, 21 August 2026, setting a deadline of 4pm on 28 August for the payment to be made. The judgment comes after the claimants’ privacy lawsuit was dismissed last month.
The claimants, Prince Harry, Sir Elton John, his husband David Furnish, actress Elizabeth Hurley, Sadie Frost, Sir Simon Hughes and Baroness Doreen Lawrence had accused Associated Newspapers of unlawful information gathering, allegations the company strenuously denied. The claims related to alleged unlawful information gathering for stories published between 1997 and 2015.
Mr Justice Nicklin dismissed all of the claims following an 11-week trial in London earlier this year, ruling last month that he comprehensively rejected the case brought by the group. The judge said the claimants had failed to produce sufficient proof to support their allegations.
Friday’s ruling addressed only an interim payment, not the full costs the group will ultimately owe. The £9.54 million figure is only an initial sum and not the full total the group will eventually pay, the court said in its ruling. Associated Newspapers says it spent more than £34.5 million defending itself, and a judge said the total bill could eventually exceed twice the initial sum, with up to £25 million more potentially due.
The judge described the full £34.5 million claim as excessive on its face. Judge Cook and Mr Justice Nicklin had earlier concluded that budgeted legal spending of more than £38.8 million combined between the two sides was manifestly excessive and disproportionate, and had told the claimants they must not spend more than £4.1 million on costs, around £14 million less than they had proposed.
Insurance is expected to cover part of the remaining liability. The group’s insurance policy is understood to cover up to £16.2 million, meaning the claimants may be liable for costs beyond that threshold.
According to CNN, the ruling was unusual in some respects, reflecting the scale and complexity of the costs dispute that followed the trial’s conclusion.
The case is the latest in a string of legal actions Prince Harry has pursued against British tabloid publishers over alleged privacy intrusions, following earlier claims against Mirror Group Newspapers and News Group Newspapers, publisher of The Sun.
