London | CNN The Duke of Sussex and six other high-profile claimants have lost a landmark legal case against the publisher of the Daily Mail after a UK High Court judge dismissed allegations of unlawful information gathering.
Justice Matthew Nicklin ruled on Tuesday that the claimants failed to prove their allegations against Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL), publisher of the Daily Mail, ending a closely watched legal battle over claims that the newspaper obtained private information through illegal means.
Court Rejects Claims of Unlawful Information Gathering
In a summary of his judgment, Justice Nicklin said the allegations were serious but emphasized that suspicion alone was insufficient to establish wrongdoing.
He said the claimants were required to prove that the information used in ANL’s news reports had been obtained unlawfully.
“The court rejected the argument that, simply because information was private, and because Associated could not positively explain how it had been sourced, the relevant article must have been unlawfully sourced,” the judge wrote.
The case centered on allegations that the publisher used unlawful methods to gather information for stories published between 1993 and 2011.
High Profile Claimants Included Prince Harry and Elton John
Prince Harry, who arrived in the United Kingdom on Monday ahead of a week of engagements, was among several well-known figures who brought the lawsuit.
The group also included singer Elton John and his husband David Furness, actress Elizabeth Hurley, campaigner Doreen Lawrence, actress Sadie Frost, and former politician Simon Hughes.
They alleged that ANL had employed illegal practices such as hiring private investigators to intercept voicemails, tap phones, and obtain confidential records through deception, a practice commonly known as “blagging.”
Daily Mail Publisher Declares ‘Overwhelming Victory’
Following the ruling, ANL welcomed the decision, describing it as a major victory for the newspaper and its journalists.
In a statement, a spokesperson said the judge had accepted the evidence presented by the company’s journalists regarding how they obtained information for their reports.
“This is a magnificent vindication of the Daily Mail’s journalism,” the spokesperson said, adding that every article challenged in the case had been “legitimately sourced.”
The publisher also said it would seek to recover legal costs incurred while defending the lawsuit.
Harry Begins Invictus Games Engagements
The judgment came as Prince Harry began a week of public engagements in the UK marking one year until the 2027 Invictus Games in Birmingham.
His wife, Meghan, and their children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, did not accompany him to London because of ongoing security concerns.
Shortly before the ruling was delivered, Harry attended an event at the Chatham House think tank in London, his first public appearance of the week.
The trial, which lasted more than two months earlier this year, heard detailed allegations from the claimants that ANL had engaged in unlawful information gathering over many years. The court ultimately found that the evidence presented did not prove those claims.
Source: CNN
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