What are the claims made by Harry and others against Mail publisher?

As the Duke of Sussex’s trial against the publisher of the Daily Mail is set to get underway at the High Court in London on Monday, here are some of the key questions:

– What is the case about?

A group of seven household names allege that Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL), which publishes the Daily Mail, carried out or commissioned unlawful activities such as hiring private investigators to place listening devices inside cars, “blagging” private records and accessing private phone conversations.

ANL denies the claims.

– What other names are involved?

As well as Harry, the claimants include Sir Elton John, his husband David Furnish, campaigner Baroness Doreen Lawrence, actress Sadie Frost, Liz Hurley and politician Sir Simon Hughes.

– What can we expect from the trial?

Harry and the other claimants are all expected to provide evidence, with the duke’s time in the witness box set to be on Thursday. Sir Elton and Mr Furnish are expected to give evidence remotely.

Lawyers for ANL are also expected to call a number of witnesses to give evidence, including former Daily Mail editor Paul Dacre.

The trial, which is expected to last nine weeks, will start with openings from each side, and each claimant’s case will be presented with supporting witnesses, followed by ANL presenting its case.

A judgment will be given in writing at a later date.

– What has the court already heard?

The claim was first filed in October 2022, and there have been several court hearings since then in preparation for the trial, some of which have indicated what we might expect from the trial.

For example, at a hearing in October last year, David Sherborne, who is representing the group, suggested that information about the Prince of Wales’s 21st birthday party could have been “blagged” by a private investigator for a story that was published in the Daily Mail.

Antony White KC, for ANL, said in written submissions that lawyers for the group had made “wholly unparticularised” allegations of unlawful information gathering (UIG) that should not proceed to the trial.

In November 2024, the court heard that Lady Lawrence was “alerted” to a potential legal claim against the Daily Mail’s publisher by a text from Harry.

There has been a lot of back and forth between the parties about what documents can and should be shared between them, and many legal arguments.

– What has the judge already ruled on?

Mr Justice Nicklin has made several orders in the case already, some more significant than others.

In November 2023, he dismissed ANL’s bid to have the claims thrown out without a trial, stating in a 95-page judgment that the publisher had “not been able to deliver a ‘knockout blow’ to the claims of any of these claimants”.

In October last year, he ruled that an allegation that ANL commissioned “burglary to order” could not go to trial.

At a hearing earlier that month, Mr White made a bid to have allegations that two Mail on Sunday journalists burgled the home of Michael Ward in 1992 and stole documents thrown out ahead of the trial.

And in a judgment, Mr Justice Nicklin, who is hearing the case, agreed, saying that “even if proved true, they cannot assist in the fair resolution of the claimants’ claims”.

In November 2023, the judge said the legal challenges could not use information drawn from ledgers given by ANL to the Leveson Inquiry into press standards in 2011 and 2012, unless given permission by the government.

But in March 2024, ministers said the confidential Leveson Inquiry documents relating to Daily Mail records of payments to private investigators could be disclosed in the legal action.