Prince Harry and six others ordered to pay £9.5 million interim costs to Daily Mail publisher

The Duke of Sussex and six other high-profile claimants have been ordered to pay an interim payment of £9.54 million to the publisher of the Daily Mail by August 28, following their unsuccessful High Court lawsuit over alleged unlawful information gathering. The ruling, delivered by Mr Justice Nicklin on Friday, August 21, 2026, marks the first major costs decision after the judge dismissed all the claims in a judgment on July 7.

The claimants, who also include Baroness Doreen Lawrence, Sir Elton John, David Furnish, Sadie Frost, Elizabeth Hurley, and Sir Simon Hughes, had sued Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL). The publisher strongly denied the allegations, which were the subject of an 11-week trial in London earlier this year. In his 44-page ruling on costs, Mr Justice Nicklin stated the interim payment must be made by 4 p.m. on August 28 as an initial contribution to ANL's legal expenses, which the court was told exceeded £34 million.

The judge further ruled that ANL's costs should be assessed on an indemnity basis, a stricter standard more favorable to the publisher. This means the losing parties must pay towards the costs without ANL needing to demonstrate they were...