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Judge pauses Prince Harry libel case against publishers of Mail on Sunday

Prince Harry's libel case against against the publisher of The Mail on Sunday will be temporarily paused

Prince Harry's libel case against against the publisher of The Mail on Sunday will be temporarily pa (Image: Getty)

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The Duke of Sussex's libel claim against the publisher of The Mail on Sunday will be temporarily paused to see if a settlement can be reached, the High Court has heard. The case refers to an article published in February under the headline: "Exclusive: How Prince Harry tried to keep his legal fight with the government over police bodyguards a secret... then - just minutes after the story broke - his PR machine tried to put a positive spin on the dispute".

ANL is contesting the claims brought against the publisher on the basis the article expressed an "honest opinion" and will also argue it did not cause "serious harm" to his reputation.

At the hearing on Tuesday Judge Barbara Fontaine heard that the two sides had agreed to continue efforts to reach a settlement, and will conduct negotiations until January 20.

The Judge also health with the budget for further expected legal fees in the case, setting the amount recoverable by Harry in the event that he wins the claim at £341,739 - almost half the £631,035 sought by the duke under the same costs headings.

The judge said costs of £340,000 have already been incurred by the duke in the case so far, and concluded that the estimate of total costs put forward on his behalf of about £1.2 million was "extremely high".

Ben Gallop, representing ANL, told the court the publisher's estimated costs are just over £500,000 and argued the duke's costs schedule was "wholly disproportionate" for a case in which the trial is due to last between two and four days.

Prince Harry wants protection for his family when they return to the UK

Prince Harry wants protection for his family when they return to the UK (Image: Getty)

In July, Mr Justice Nicklin ruled in the Duke's favour finding the article was defamatory.

He said a reader would understand from the article that Harry "was responsible for public statements, issued on his behalf, which claimed that he was willing to pay for police protection in the UK, and that his legal challenge was to the Government's refusal to permit him to do so, whereas the true position, as revealed in documents filed in the legal proceedings, was that he had only made the offer to pay after the proceedings had commenced".

READ MORE: Jennie Bond slams 'extremely sloppy production' of Harry and Meghan

Prince Harry is also beginning legal proceedings against the Home Office

Prince Harry is also beginning legal proceedings against the Home Office (Image: Getty)

Mr Justice Nicklin said: "It may be possible to 'spin' facts in a way that does not mislead, but the allegation being made in the article was very much that the object was to mislead the public.
"That supplies the necessary element to make the meanings defamatory at common law."

However, he rejected an argument from Harry's legal team saying the article accused Harry of lying, saying: "The article does not make that blunt allegation, whether expressly or by implication.

"The hypothetical ordinary reasonable reader would understand the difference, as a matter of fact, between 'spinning' facts and 'lying'."
Prince Harry is also beginning legal proceedings against the Home Office after it refused to allow him to pay for his own security for his family when visiting the UK.

A judge gave the go-ahead in July for a full hearing in the duke's challenge against a decision of Ravec, which falls under the remit of the Home Office.

No date has yet been set for that hearing.