Prince Harry and six other claimants seek major damages from the Daily Mail publisher after a landmark privacy trial concludes in London.
LONDON: Prince Harry’s legal team demanded the publisher of the Daily Mail pay him and six other claimants “substantial” damages for invading their privacy as a lengthy High Court civil trial concluded.
The Duke of Sussex, pop star Elton John, and actor Elizabeth Hurley are among the seven public figures suing Associated Newspapers Ltd (ANL) for allegedly unlawfully gathering intimate information for stories between 1993 and 2018.
They accuse the publisher of authorising practices like phone hacking, placing listening devices in cars and homes, and impersonating individuals to obtain private medical records.
“The court is invited to make a substantial award of damages, including aggravated damages, in respect of each of the (claimants) for misuse of their private information,” the group’s lawyers said in their closing statement.
ANL has denied all the claims, dismissing them as “speculative” after nine weeks of dramatic testimonies.
Defence lawyer Antony White argued there was no “wide practice” of unlawful information gathering at the newspapers, stating the claimants were “clutching at straws.”
He said ordinary, legitimate journalism was more likely than phone hacking or other unlawful methods.
During emotional testimony in January, Harry accused the Daily Mail of making his wife Meghan’s life “an absolute misery” and said he came to feel “paranoid beyond belief.”
Elton John, testifying by video-link, accused the papers of “abhorrent” privacy invasions including accessing his family’s medical records.
British actor Liz Hurley broke down in tears while testifying, accusing ANL of “monstrous” conduct including planting secret microphones in her home’s window.
The case saw a dramatic U-turn before the trial, with a key witness retracting important statements.
Private investigator Gavin Burrows, who allegedly admitted to unlawful acts in a 2021 statement, told the court his so-called confessions were “fake” and forged.
Another investigator, Dan Portley-Hanks, said in a written statement he recalled working for The Mail on Prince Harry and doing “unlawful stuff,” but could not recall specifics.
Closing the trial, Justice Matthew Nicklin said the judgement would take “some time,” with a written ruling expected at a later date.
It is the third, and set to be final, case brought by Harry in his acrimonious legal battle with the British press.
Harry has long blamed the media for the death of his mother Princess Diana, who was killed in a Paris car crash in 1997 while trying to shake off the paparazzi.