The Duke of Sussex and six other claimants, including Sir Elton John and actress Liz Hurley, are suing Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL), the publisher of the Daily Mail, over alleged unlawful information gathering. The group accuses ANL of engaging in illicit activities, including phone tapping, acquiring private records through deception, and even commissioning burglaries. ANL strongly denies all allegations, previously calling them “lurid” and “simply preposterous”.
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At a High Court hearing in May, ANL requested that the claimants disclose any material relating to payments, royalties, or inducements potentially made to obtain evidence or witness co-operation. Antony White KC, representing ANL, argued that limited documents had so far been shared, some of which suggest that payments were made to procure evidence and invoices. In a ruling handed down on Friday, Mr Justice Nicklin agreed that such documents should be disclosed where relevant to the credibility of witnesses.
Mr Justice Nicklin stated that the claimants’ position had been weakened by an “inconsistent and incoherent” approach to disclosure. He ordered their legal team to carry out further searches and provide any documents that ANL might rely on to argue that financial incentives were offered in exchange for evidence. The judge emphasised that the impact of any such payments on witness credibility would ultimately be determined at trial.
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In addition, the judge ordered selective un-redaction of some of ANL’s documents, where necessary to establish whether specific journalists have a pattern of engaging in unlawful information gathering. He ruled that the claimants are entitled to pursue such lines of enquiry in light of ANL’s blanket denial of wrongdoing. The trial is scheduled to begin in January and is expected to run for nine weeks.