Harry and Others Hit with Interim £9.54m Costs

A London High Court has ordered Prince Harry and seven other high-profile claimants to pay an interim costs bill of about £9.54 million to Associated Newspapers, publisher of the Daily Mail, by August 28, with costs to be assessed on an indemnity basis. The court had previously rejected the group’s claims of unlawful information gathering, including phone hacking, delivering a sweeping defeat to the claimants and ruling ANL’s total costs at more than £34 million. Among the group are Elton John, Elizabeth Hurley, Doreen Lawrence and David Furnish, with Harry calling the ruling a 'complete and obvious whitewash' as they prepare to move back to the UK from the United States. ANL framed the decision as a major victory for press freedom, noting that the costs regime and indemnity basis favored the publisher. The verdict arrives just as Harry and Meghan have announced plans to return to the UK, adding a high-profile context to the civil costs ruling. The case underscores a dramatic collapse of the civil claims after an 11-week trial in London earlier this year.