Prince Harry wins final stage of Mail on Sunday High Court libel claim

Image source, Reuters

Parts of a Mail on Sunday article about the Duke of Sussex's dispute over his safety ity were potentially in love, a judge said in an early ruling.

Prince Harry is suing Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL) for defamation over a February story about his legal battle with the Home Office.

His lawyer said the story incorrectly suggests he "lied" and "cynically" tried to manipulate public opinion.

But ANL said it contained "no trace of impropriety" and was not defamatory.

The High Court ruling is the first step in the libel battle, which aims to establish what the article meant and what claims the news group will have to defend.

The court will decide after further hearings whether the Duke's libel case succeeds or fails and why.High Court hearing for libel claim of Prince Harry

The story, published in the Mail on Sunday and online, referred to the Duke of Sussex's separate court case against the Home Office over security arrangements while he and his family are in the UK. was responsible for "misrepresenting the facts" and misleading the public into believing that he had offered to pay for police protection and challenging the government's refusal to allow him to do so.

The article also alleged that court documents revealed that the Duke only offered to fund the security measures after the legal battle began, and that he had improperly attempted to prevent documents and witness statements in the case from becoming public, the judge said.