Prince Harry loses High Court privacy case against Daily Mail publisher

An Associated Newspaper spokesperson said: “Mr Justice Nicklin today cleared the Daily Mail and the Mail on Sunday, and dismissed every single one of the 97 allegations made by the claimants.

“In every case, the judge accepted the honesty of our journalists’ evidence on how they sourced their stories.

“This is a magnificent vindication of the Daily Mail’s journalism.”

They added the court case has “wasted so much valuable court time and more than £50m in legal costs”.

Paul Dacre, Associated Newspapers’ editor-in-chief and ex-Daily Mail editor, said the action had been “trumped-up” adding it “should never have been brought to trial”.

He added he would “never be able to comprehend” why Baroness Lawrence had decided to “turn on” the Daily Mail, which campaigned on the Lawrence family’s behalf. In 1997, the paper ran a famous front page naming the five prime suspects in Stephen’s murder.

But Baroness Lawrence told the court in February she thought the paper was only “pretending” to support her campaign for justice for the “credibility of supporting a black family”.

A further hearing lasting two days is now expected to take place from 29 July.

This is the latest – and is expected to be the last – in a series of courtroom battles fought by Prince Harry against what he has seen as the dishonest practices of the UK press.

In 2023, Prince Harry won 15 claims in his case accusing Mirror Group Newspapers of unlawfully gathering information for stories published about him.

Last year, the publisher of the Sun newspaper agreed to pay “substantial damages” and apologised to the duke to settle a long-running legal battle over claims of unlawful intrusion into his life.

Tuesday’s verdict coincides with the start of a week of engagements in the UK for Prince Harry, starting with an event in London for the Invictus Games, his charity for injured military veterans.

On Tuesday afternoon, Harry smiled and gave a thumbs up to crowds as he stepped into his car following an Invictus Games event.