Prince Harry and Elton John appeal privacy lawsuit defeat

Prince Harry, Sir Elton John, and five other high-profile claimants have filed applications with the Court of Appeal seeking to challenge their High Court defeat in a privacy lawsuit against Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL).

The group, which includes David Furnish, Elizabeth Hurley, Sadie Frost, and Baroness Doreen Lawrence, alleges that the publisher of the Daily Mail used illegal methods to gather information between 1993 and 2018. These alleged tactics included phone hacking, intercepting voicemails, and obtaining private medical records through deception.

In July, Mr. Justice Nicklin dismissed all 97 claims, ruling that the claimants failed to provide sufficient evidence of unlawful information gathering and accepting the journalists' explanations for how stories were obtained. Following this, the judge ordered the claimants to pay an initial £9.5 million toward the publisher's legal costs.

The claimants' legal team stated they believe the judgments regarding both the dismissal of the claims and the indemnity costs order are “legally and factually flawed.” ANL has denied all allegations of wrongdoing, maintaining that its journalists used legitimate sources.