Prince Harry loses privacy case against Daily Mail publisher
by Joe Fisher · UPIJuly 7 (UPI) -- Prince Harry and six other plaintiffs have lost their privacy case against the publisher of the Daily Mail on Tuesday.
The British high court dismissed all claims against Associated Newspapers, which alleged it had used illegal tactics to gather information on story subjects. Judge Matthew Nicklin said the claimants failed to prove that the publisher gathered information illegally.
"The court rejected the argument that, simply because the information was private, and because Associated [Newspapers] could not positively explain how it had been sourced, the relevant article must have been unlawfully sourced," Nicklin wrote.
Other claimants in the case included Elizabeth Hurley, Elton John and Sadie Frost. The claimants in the case accused the Daily Mail's reporters of hacking phones, using private investigators to install bugs and paying off law enforcement officials.
Fifty-five articles were presented in court, published between 1997 and 2015, meant to demonstrate the illegality of the Daily Mail's practices.
American Newspapers Ltd., the company that owns the Daily Mail, called the decision "an overwhelming victory for the Daily Mail and its journalists."
"In every case, the judge accepted the honesty of our journalists' evidence on how they sourced their stories," ANL said in a statement. "This is a magnificent vindication of the Daily Mail's journalism."
ANL added that it will seek to recover the costs it incurred in the case.
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Prince Harry (R) and Meghan Markle arrive on the red carpet at the third annual World Mental Health Day gala in New York City on October 9, 2025. Harry and Markle, co-Founders of the Archewell Foundation, were honored with the Humanitarians of the Year award. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo