Prince Harry Arrives as Legal Battle Against Daily Mail Publisher Commences

The Duke of Sussex has arrived at a central London court as he and six other prominent figures begin their legal battle against the publisher of the Daily Mail, alleging it used unlawful information gathering to secure stories. Prince Harry headed to the high court to observe the opening of the case, which is expected to last 10 weeks. He is due to give evidence later this week and flew in from California on Sunday. The duke is part of a group of high-profile figures, including Doreen Lawrence, the campaigning mother of Stephen Lawrence, who was killed in a racist murder more than 30 years ago. Sir Elton John and his husband David Furnish, the actors Elizabeth Hurley and Sadie Frost, and the former Lib Dem MP Simon Hughes are also part of the action. The claimants accuse Associated Newspapers, which publishes the Daily Mail and the Mail on Sunday, of hiring private investigators to place listening devices inside cars, obtain private records through “blagging” and access private phone conversations. Associated denies all the allegations. It describes them as “lurid” and “preposterous smears”. The claim is the culmination of several cases brought by Prince Harry against newspaper groups, accusing them of unlawful activities. The case against Associated Newspapers Ltd was lodged in October 2022. The group failed in its attempt to have the case thrown out, having argued the claims were too old. Whatever the outcome, the case is expected to prove extremely expensive. Costs could be as much as £38m. Prince Harry’s claims relate to a series of articles that are alleged to have been produced using unlawful means. The barrister David Sherborne, acting for the claimants, has said that the unlawful acts in the claim include illegally intercepting voicemail messages, listening to live landline calls and obtaining medical records. In written submissions, he said: “They range through a period from 1993 to 2011, even continuing beyond until 2018.” The trial begins on Monday with the opening arguments for the claimants. Prince Harry has previously brought legal claims against the publishers of both the Mirror and the Sun over the use of unlawful information gathering. In 2023, he was awarded £140,600 in damages from Mirror Group Newspapers. Last year, he settled a claim against News Group Newspapers (NGN), the publisher of the Sun and the now-defunct News of the World. NGN apologised for “serious intrusion” by the Sun between 1996 and 2011, and admitted that “incidents of unlawful activity” were carried out by private investigators working for the newspaper.