Prince Harry, Elton John and five other prominent figures could be forced to pay several million pounds sterling to the Associated Newspapers Limited group, owner of the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday, after their defeat in the High Court of London at the beginning of July. The court had concluded, at the end of two months of proceedings, that the plaintiffs had failed to prove that the tabloids had intercepted voicemails or listened to telephone conversations in order to publish some fifty articles between 1993 and 2018.
The media group is demanding reimbursement of its expenses
A new hearing has begun to determine the amount of legal costs. Associated Newspapers Limited claims to have incurred £34,5 million, or approximately €40 million, over the four years of proceedings. The company is seeking to recover a significant portion of these expenses and is requesting an initial payment of £9,9 million, or approximately €11,5 million, within two weeks.
Celebrities potentially facing a bill of over 21 million euros
Prince Harry, Elizabeth Hurley, David Furnish (Elton John's husband), and the other plaintiffs had taken out insurance covering up to £16,2 million in legal costs. If the court grants Associated Newspapers Limited's request, they could still have to finance up to an additional £18,3 million (approximately €21,3 million) themselves.
Two opposing views on the expenses incurred
The owner of Daily Mail The company believes that the proceedings have resulted in exceptional expenses due to the scale of the accusations against its newspapers and is requesting that the plaintiffs bear a significant portion of these costs. Representatives of the seven individuals, for their part, dispute the amount claimed. They consider the costs excessive and maintain that they far exceed the budgets approved during the proceedings. They propose to reimburse the costs according to the scale usually applied by the British courts and say they are prepared to pay an advance of £8 million, or approximately €9 million.
A decision is expected later
Prince Harry continues to contest the July ruling, which he considers flawed. Along with the other plaintiffs, he maintains that he acted in good faith in bringing the lawsuit against the media group. The High Court in London must now issue a written decision on the issue of legal costs. This will determine the exact amount the seven individuals may have to pay to Associated Newspapers Limited.
