Lessons Learned From Prince Harry’s Unlawful Information Gathering Claims

As has been widely reported, the claim recently brought by Prince Harry and six other well-known individuals against Associated Newspapers has failed in its entirety, with Mr Justice Nicklin rejecting all the claimants’ claims for misuse of personal information (or breach of confidence)¹.

Whilst the identity of the parties, and the nature of the allegations made, have generated headlines in the mainstream press, the 436-page judgment is also of interest because of the insight it provides into the way the judge analysed the (limited) available evidence. This guidance is likely to be particularly helpful in cases where a claimant lacks direct proof of the allegations made and their case depends on the Court being prepared to draw inferences of wrongdoing from the surrounding circumstances.