The Duke of Sussex is considering further legal action against Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN) if he is not awarded appropriate damages following his “overwhelmingly successful” High Court victory against the publisher.
The Duke sued the newspaper group over 148 articles he alleged had been obtained illegally, revealing, when he gave evidence last June, that he was motivated by a desire to protect his wife, Meghan.
He was awarded £140,600 in damages after the judge found that 15 of 33 articles selected for examination at trial were the product of phone hacking or unlawful information gathering.
The ruling, handed down in December, prompted the Duke to hail himself a “dragon slayer” as he vowed to continue his crusade against the tabloid press.
As the case returned to the High Court on Monday, it emerged that no agreement had yet been made concerning potential damages for the outstanding 115 stories that comprised his claim.
They include reports about his relationship with former girlfriend Chelsy Davy and military career, which he believes were obtained illegally.
It emerged in court that MGN had offered to settle his claim pre-trial.
Only a quarter of the Duke’s case has been determined
Roger Mallalieu KC, for MGN, revealed in court documents that “offers have been made” to Prince Harry but insisted that the terms remain secret.
The Duke’s barrister, David Sherborne, suggested that although attempts would be made to resolve the remainder of his claim through agreement, his client was prepared to return to the witness box if necessary.
He pointed out that only a quarter of his case had been determined, with 115 articles still to be tried.
“Although the Duke is certainly prepared to attempt to resolve the remainder of his claim through agreement, it is necessary to list of the trial of the remainder of his claim as soon as is practicable, in order that his claim, which was issued almost four-and-a-half years ago in September 2019, may be fully determined if agreement is not reached,” he said.
The barrister said a further trial would likely take up to 10 days, depending on the number of witnesses called by MGN.
“There is no reason why the Duke’s claim should wait until determination of any appeal, which would not affect his claim,” he added.
Both MGN and the Duke agreed that his costs should be reserved pending resolution on the outstanding articles.
Mr Mallalieu said: “Whilst the Duke of Sussex has been awarded damages of £140,600, his claim has not yet concluded.”
Other claimants left with huge legal fees
The Duke’s case was heard alongside similar claims brought by Coronation Street actor Michael Turner, who is known professionally as Michael Le Vell, actress Nikki Sanderson and Fiona Wightman, the ex-wife of comedian Paul Whitehouse.
Ms Sanderson and Ms Wightman’s claims were dismissed because they were made too late, despite the judge finding that some of their complaints were proved, leaving them facing massive legal bills.
Ms Sanderson, it emerged, rejected a £160,000 settlement offer.
MGN said the unsuccessful claimants should make interim payments of 90 per cent of its costs. It is seeking an interim payment of almost £96,000 from Ms Wightman and £110,000 from Ms Sanderson.
Mr Turner was awarded £31,650 in damages after the judge ruled his case was “proved only to a limited extent”.
The publisher, however, said Mr Turner should also pay its costs after rejecting a £50,000 settlement offer that he failed to beat at trial.
Any argument to the contrary was “fanciful”, Mr Mallalieu told the court. MGN is seeking an interim payment of almost £109,000 from Mr Turner.
Mr Sherborne said MGN should pay the generic trial costs on an indemnity basis and that there should be an interim payment on account.
He said MGN had repeatedly denied both the scale of unlawful information gathering and the level of board and legal department knowledge and then “fiercely resisted” disclosure.
“The defendant denied the case wholesale,” he added. “There has to be a consequence to that.”
He said there was a “plain and overwhelming case” for the claimants to recover costs “because we were the overall winners quite clearly.”
He added: “We were overwhelmingly successful and that justifies an issue-based costs order.”
Mr Sherborne has asked for an interim payment of almost £2 million for common costs to be paid by MGN.