Key facts
- Prince Harry, Elton John, David Furnish, Elizabeth Hurley, Sadie Frost and Baroness Lawrence filed the applications, a joint spokesperson said.
- The applications challenge both Mr Justice Nicklin's dismissal of the claims and a subsequent indemnity costs order.
- The claimants' spokesperson said the group considers the decisions legally and factually flawed.
- Associated Newspapers has strongly denied the allegations of unlawful information gathering.
- The spokesperson's statement did not mention Simon Hughes, who was part of the action; the BBC said it had contacted him.
Prince Harry and five other public figures filed applications with the Court of Appeal on November 6, 2026, seeking permission to challenge a High Court ruling that dismissed their privacy claims against the publisher of the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday. A joint spokesperson for the group said the claimants had applied to challenge both Mr Justice Nicklin's dismissal of their claims and a subsequent indemnity costs order.
The spokesperson said: "The claimants respectfully disagree with those unprecedented decisions, which they consider to be legally and factually flawed." The group named in the statement comprises Prince Harry, singer Sir Elton John, his husband David Furnish, actress Elizabeth Hurley, actress Sadie Frost and campaigner Baroness Lawrence. The statement did not refer to Liberal Democrat politician Sir Simon Hughes, who was part of the action; the BBC said it had contacted him to establish whether he is joining the appeal.
In July, Mr Justice Nicklin dismissed all the allegations after an 11-week trial in London. Associated Newspapers strongly denied the claims. A spokesperson for the publisher described the judgment at the time as an "overwhelming victory for the Daily Mail and its journalists." Lawyers for the publisher told the court the journalists had given a "compelling account of a pattern of legitimate sourcing of articles."
In August the judge ordered the claimants to make an initial payment of £9.54 million while the final total was calculated. The report said the group faced joint legal costs of up to £34.5 million. Under the convention in such civil cases, the losing party reimburses the other side's reasonable legal fees and also pays its own costs.