- The Duke of Sussex and six other prominent figures are awaiting a High Court decision on the substantial legal costs they may have to pay to Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL).
- This follows their unsuccessful lawsuit against ANL, publisher of the Daily Mail, which alleged unlawful information-gathering and was dismissed by Mr Justice Nicklin on 7 July.
- A two-day High Court hearing this week revealed ANL's total legal costs exceed £34 million, with the publisher requesting an interim payment of over £9.9 million.
- Lawyers for the group, which includes Sir Elton John and Baroness Doreen Lawrence, argued that ANL's requested interim payment was "manifestly excessive," proposing a figure of just over £7.9 million.
- Mr Justice Nicklin will issue a written ruling next month on the size of the initial payment and how costs will be assessed, noting the "unprecedented" scale of the legal expenses.
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