High Court dismisses claims by Duke of Sussex, Sir Elton John, Baroness Lawrence and others, with huge legal costs now looming

PRINCE HARRY Sir Elton John, Baroness Lawrence and four other public figures have lost a major High Court privacy battle against the publisher of the Daily Mail, The Mail on Sunday and MailOnline.

In a 436-page judgment handed down on Tuesday (July 7), Mr Justice Nicklin dismissed all claims brought against Associated Newspapers Limited.

The case was brought by Baroness Lawrence of Clarendon, Elizabeth Hurley, Sir Elton John, David Furnish, Sir Simon Hughes, Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, and Sadie Frost Law.

They alleged that Associated Newspapers had obtained private or confidential information through unlawful methods, including phone hacking, listening to calls, deception, and the use of private investigators.

The claimants said information gathered in this way was used to help prepare articles published in the Daily Mail, The Mail on Sunday and MailOnline over a period stretching from the late 1990s to 2015.

Associated Newspapers denied the allegations.

After a lengthy trial earlier this year, the judge found that the claimants had not proved their case.

He said the court had to examine the evidence article by article, rather than deciding the case on broad allegations about tabloid culture or historic wrongdoing elsewhere in the newspaper industry.

The judgment examined dozens of stories and incidents, including articles about Prince Harry’s private life, Elizabeth Hurley’s family life, Sir Elton John and David Furnish, Sadie Frost Law, and Baroness Lawrence’s long campaign following the racist murder of her son Stephen Lawrence.

Mr Justice Nicklin said that while the use of private investigators could raise serious questions, it did not automatically prove unlawful information gathering.

He also accepted that some information could have come from public sources, previous reporting, ordinary journalistic contacts, publicists or confidential sources.

A central plank of the claimants’ case was an allegation that senior Associated figures had misled the Leveson Inquiry. The claimants described this as the “Leveson Lies”.

The judge rejected that allegation.

He found that the claimants had not proved that Paul Dacre, Elizabeth Hartley or Stephen Wright gave evidence to Leveson which they knew to be untrue.

The judge said Associated’s response to Leveson was not necessarily beyond criticism, but that was different from proving deliberate falsehoods.

He was also critical of the way the allegation had been pursued, saying that claims of such seriousness must be clearly tied to specific statements and properly put to witnesses.

The ruling is a major victory for Associated Newspapers and a significant setback for the Duke of Sussex, who has brought a series of legal actions against sections of the British press.

The financial consequences could also be substantial.

Associated Newspapers is expected to seek to recover its costs. Some reports have put the overall legal bill at more than £50m, although the final recoverable figure will be a matter for the court and may be lower.

A previous costs judgment showed that the claimants had taken out After The Event insurance, commonly known as ATE insurance. That type of policy is designed to protect a claimant against having to pay the other side’s legal costs if they lose.

The court was told the claimants had individual ATE policies of £2.35m each, giving total cover of £14.1m.

However, the final costs position has not yet been decided. A further hearing has been fixed for July 29 and 30, when the parties are expected to deal with the consequences of the judgment, including any dispute over costs.

For readers in Wales, the case is important because it goes to the heart of media law, privacy and the limits of evidence in claims against powerful publishers.

The judgment does not say that unlawful tabloid practices never happened. Instead, it says that these claimants failed to prove these claims against this publisher on the evidence before the court.

Mr Justice Nicklin concluded: “Each of the Claimants’ claims is dismissed.”

Associated Newspapers welcomed the ruling. The claimants are reported to be considering their next steps.

A LLANGENNECH man who drove an Audi S5 dangerously while disqualified and uninsured has been handed a suspended prison sentence.

Ashley Bowen, 35, of Dan y Cwar, Nant y Gro, Llangennech, appeared before Llanelli Magistrates’ Court on Thursday (Jul 9).

He admitted driving while disqualified and using a motor vehicle without third party insurance. He also indicated a guilty plea to dangerous driving.

The offences took place in Llanelli on July 2.

The court heard Bowen drove the Audi S5 dangerously on Troserch Road. He was also found to have driven the vehicle on Maes yr Dderwen while disqualified from holding or obtaining a driving licence, and without a valid insurance policy.

Magistrates recorded that the dangerous driving was aggravated by Bowen’s previous record, the fact he was evading police, and that other driving offences were committed at the same time.

Bowen was sentenced to 12 months in prison, suspended for 18 months, for the dangerous driving offence. He was also given a three-month concurrent suspended sentence for driving while disqualified.

He must complete 200 hours of unpaid work and up to 15 rehabilitation activity days.

Bowen was disqualified from driving for 40 months and must pass an extended test before being allowed back on the road.

He was also ordered to pay £85 costs and a £187 surcharge.

OFFICERS from Haverfordwest Neighbourhood Policing and Prevention Team have taken part in the Prostate Cymru Walk of Wales, completing the scenic leg from Porthclais to Whitesands.

The walk gave the team the chance to support an important cause while helping raise awareness of prostate cancer, which affects one in eight men in the UK and is the most common cancer among men in Wales.

Taking in one of Pembrokeshire’s most beautiful stretches of coastline, the route formed part of a much larger challenge being undertaken between June and August 2026.

Walkers are travelling around Wales via the Wales Coast Path, averaging around 40km a day over 44 days to raise awareness and support the work of Prostate Cymru.

Police praised everyone taking part in the challenge and thanked those supporting the initiative.

Every step helps make a difference.