Harry and five others seek permission to appeal Mail privacy ruling

Prince Harry and five other claimants are seeking permission to appeal a High Court ruling that dismissed their allegations of unlawful information gathering against the publisher of the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday. They are also challenging a later order requiring them to pay the publisher’s legal costs.

The group’s applications have been filed with the Court of Appeal, a spokesperson for the claimants said on Friday. The six are Harry, singer Elton John, John’s husband David Furnish, actresses Elizabeth Hurley and Sadie Frost, and campaigner Baroness Lawrence.

The spokesperson said the claimants “respectfully disagree” with the decisions, which they consider legally and factually flawed. The applications seek permission to challenge both the judgment by Mr Justice Nicklin and the subsequent order for indemnity costs; the Court of Appeal has not yet decided whether to allow an appeal.

The High Court dismissed the claims after an 11-week trial in London, finding the claimants had not proved their allegations. Associated Newspapers Limited, the publisher, strongly denied wrongdoing. Its lawyers argued at trial that the articles had relied on legitimate sources, including information from friends and people in the claimants’ social circles.

The costs order followed in August. The judge ordered the claimants to make an initial payment of £9.54m while the final amount was calculated; their potential joint liability was reported as up to £34.5m.

Liberal Democrat politician Sir Simon Hughes was also part of the original action, but the group’s statement did not say whether he was joining the applications. After the costs ruling, Hughes said he would consider whether to appeal either decision.