Prince Harry, Sir Elton John and three other claimants have been ordered to pay €11.1 million (£9.54 million) upfront towards the legal costs of Daily Mail publisher Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL), after losing their phone-hacking case against the group.
Prince Harry, Sir Elton John, Liz Hurley and Baroness Doreen Lawrence are facing a legal bill of up to £34.5m after losing their phone-hacking case against the Daily Mail publisher.
— The Telegraph (@Telegraph) August 21, 2026
A judge has ordered the claimants to make an initial £9.5m payment within seven days.
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The court's decision
The sum was set by the High Court of England and Wales, which ordered the group of seven claimants, among them Prince Harry, Elton John, Liz Hurley, Doreen Lawrence and Sir Simon Hughes, to pay the interim amount following the final dismissal of their claim by Mr Justice Nicklin. ANL's total legal costs in the case are reported to exceed £34.5 million.
According to Sky News, ANL's legal team had sought an interim payment of more than £9.9 million, while lawyers for Prince Harry and the other claimants argued the figure should not exceed £7.9 million.
What the ruling found
In his ruling, which runs to more than 436 pages, Mr Justice Nicklin found that none of the claimants had succeeded in proving their allegations of unlawful information gathering. The group had accused the publisher of phone tapping, landline interception and deception by private investigators and journalists spanning three decades, dating back to the early 1990s.
Prince Harry and six others ordered to pay Daily Mail publisher £9.5m https://t.co/2yT9jUSoJ1
— BBC News (UK) (@BBCNews) August 21, 2026
ANL, which owns the Daily Mail, denied the allegations throughout the proceedings. Following the July verdict, the publisher described it as a "sweeping victory" and a "resounding vindication of Daily Mail journalism," while the paper's former editor, Paul Dacre, said the case "should never have reached the courts."
Prince Harry described the ruling as a "complete reversal" of the position judges had taken in his previous cases against the publishers of The Sun and The Mirror, calling it "a total and blatant cover-up, although sadly not entirely unexpected."
Reaction and possible appeal
Sir Simon Hughes, the first claimant to react publicly, said he was "disappointed and astonished" by the verdict and by the court's decision not to cap ANL's claimed costs. He said he was considering an appeal against both the substance of the ruling and the costs order.
Payment timeline and cost assessment
According to legal expert Colin Campbell, the deadline for payment of the initial £9.5 million falls on 28 August. The sum is fully insured, meaning the claimants will not need to pay from personal funds immediately.
Mr Justice Nicklin said that if the two sides fail to agree a final figure, ANL's total costs will be assessed in a separate process by a court costs officer. "The costs judge will scrutinise the work carried out, the time spent, the seniority of the fee earners, any duplication, and whether the sums claimed are reasonable," he said.
The judge stressed that the costs order was not a "blank cheque," and that ANL cannot recover funds spent unreasonably or excessively. Barring an appeal, Associated Newspapers must submit a detailed breakdown of the £34.5 million within three months, with final assessment expected to take up to a year.
The court set 2 October as the deadline for applications for permission to appeal, either against the substantive July ruling or the costs order. Unless the court deems a hearing necessary, applications will be considered on the papers. The deadline for lodging an appeal with the Court of Appeal has been extended to 6 November 2026.
Source: Sky News
