Duke of Sussex & Others vs ANL: thread 4

[bluegreygreen]

This is the fourth thread discussing the case Prince Harry (and 6 others) brought against the Daily Mail (Associated Newspapers Limited; ANL) for alleged unlawful information gathering (UIG).

The claimants are: Prince Harry (PH); Doreen Lawrence (DL); Liz Hurley (EH/LH); Elton John (EJ); David Furnish (DF); Simon Hughes (SH); Sadie Frost (SF).
They are represented by David Sherborne (DS).
The defendant (ANL) is represented by Anthony White (AMW).

The threads to date have been thorough discussions of the evidence (so far as we were able to obtain it), with posters giving links and explaining their views. We have mostly kept things civil by avoiding partisan discussions on specific Royal Family members, and trying not to be derailed from the topic of court proceedings.
The case has concluded and we are now awaiting the judgement from Judge Nicklin.

We have also included (when things slowed with the title case) other cases or discussions with a specific theme of free speech/press freedom, particularly when related to those with money or power preventing others from speaking.

One current ongoing case is that involving @GwendolineFairfax8 - some details towards the end of thread 3.
The case is in court this week and is likely to be reported on at the end of the week.

Links to previous threads

Thread 1

Thread 2

Thread 3

There was limited direct reporting from court after the celebrities gave evidence; what there we followed on this link
Sky news link to court case

Someone just said to me: 'Those kids'll be on a Ryanair flight to Althorp before the day is out. It's the only thing he's got left.' 😂

Re DL

I think if you make a decision to take someone to court, you need to do your own due diligence, particularly when you are the one who will pay for it.

She has, after all, had two years of pre-trial hearings to look at the evidence and think about whether it might not be sufficient.

What a result. He really does fail at everything.

Does this mean it's safe for Gavin Burrows to come out of hiding?

Also, can Harry declare bankruptcy in the US to get out of paying in the UK?

What hatred? - he and other celebs chose to take these cases to court in the glare of publicity - even the judge warned them, at the pre-trial hearing last December, that this was a huge risk, the costs they were incurring were ridiculous and he urged them to settle. But they refused and ploughed on.

Those of us who followed the case were surprised by the lack of actual evidence.

If Harry has poor mental health why would he choose to dredge up 20 year old articles about his dating life? None of his cases involved Meghan and the kids - they were all about Chelsy Davy.

Any parables you’d like to throw onto the thread?

A nice beatitude? Here’s one for Harry: ‘blessed are the meek …’

Maybe he could buy a scratch card on board and win enough money to cover his legal costs?

I can't remember where I read this but I think I read H still hasn't paid his Ravec case costs. I may be wrong. Would this be a matter of public record somewhere if so ?
That was government money he was spending (well , making them spend but you know what I mean). I still think ANL should have all their costs covered. And if it is true H & the others thought ANL would roll over and pay out , then that is a hard lesson leaned.

I think people go to court to willy nilly. Look how it ruined Blake Lively's reputation, and how much it cost Rebekah Vardy. Without hard evidence I'd personally avoid taking anyone to court. People have become greedy. I wonder if it'll bankrupt the likes of Doreen Lawrence and Liz Hurley. Or even Harry? They rolled the dice and lost.

Hacked Off now spinning that line that @bluegreygreen mentioned upthread about the court not making a judgment on whether UIG was widespread at ANL....saying the only way to investigate that fully is with Leveson #2.....

I mean, does anyone really want that except Hugh Grant and Andy Burnham?

Don't bring inconvenient facts into it, IcedPurple ... we all naturally feel sorry for DL over the dreadful tragedy she suffered, but that doesn't give her a bye on everything forever more

Predictable from Hacked Off but I can't see any appetite for more investigating from anywhere else.

Oh no - was hoping the result would put the stoppers on Andy Burnham and Hugh Grant.

We are on the same page - I am very pleased 😌

I suspect Andy Burnham will have far more important things to focus on.

I agree about DL. She’s a grown woman and perfectly capable of assessing the facts for herself. She’s also no stranger to the legal process.

I will be very interested to hear how the costs issue develops, will it be made public specifically who is on the hook for how much? For example are all the claimants equal or would some pay more than others?

So, if H&M are now going to be in desperate need of money it probably won’t be long until they start full on monetising the kids, writing more “tell all” books and inviting film crews in to their home for a “Life with the Sussexes” type of show, will it?

He was not in hiding, he was working abroad.

I’m pleased for you @AgileRobin and @GwendolineFairfax8

Doreen Lawrence is not a novice when it comes to suing. She sued the Met in 2000 and won £320,000 (worth £625,000 today). She really should have done more due diligence - especially when the claimants' key witness retracted his statement in 2023.

I find I have less respect for Doreen Lawrence these days
-after Grenfell she said the London Fire Brigade let people die because they are a bunch of racists.
-in court on this case she claimed the main journalist Stephen Wright only pretended to support the campaign to pursue her son' killers. Whereas Wright's court evidence was that the case was deeply personal and emotional because his wife and children are women of colour and that he was shocked Doreen would think this having met his family.

That ship has sailed though. PP asking why there is no much hatred; I don’t think there is. I think the general public are mostly indifferent towards them now, which is even worse than hate for them; you can’t monetise indifference.

Not now he has lost and can't pontificate from Buckingham Palace

It would fit with his behavior this afternoon - described as bouyant or something.

Or maybe he is the real acting talent

There is no hatred. There's some boredom, frustration and indifference. Some people find them amusing. They have some hardcore fans, but that's not enough.

Thanks for sharing that. I had no idea about the second part.