Meghan Markle to pay more than £67,000 in costs after losing first round of Mail legal battle

Luke O'Reilly30 July 2020

Meghan Markle has agreed to pay more than £67,000 in legal costs after losing the first round of her legal battle against the Mail on Sunday's publisher.

The Mail on Sunday's publisher Associated Newspapers Ltd (ANL) won the first skirmish in the legal action on May 1, when Mr Justice Warby struck out parts of Meghan’s claim, including allegations that the publisher acted “dishonestly” by leaving out certain passages of the letter.

Court papers show Meghan has agreed to pay ANL’s £67,888 costs for that hearing in full.

The duchess is suing ANL over an article which reproduced parts of a handwritten letter sent by her to her estranged father Thomas Markle, 76, in August 2018.

Meghan Markle is suing the publisher of the Mail on Sunday at the High Court over five articles that published portions of a handwritten letter she wrote to Thomas Markle
AP

In court documents outlining her claim against the publisher, her solicitors say the letter was “obviously private correspondence” and she did not expect the contents to be made public.

Sections of the letter, which was sent to Mr Markle, 76, in August 2018, were published in February in the Mail on Sunday and on MailOnline.

The headline read: “Revealed: The letter showing true tragedy of Meghan’s rift with a father she says has ‘broken her heart into a million pieces’.”

Meghan Markle: The Duchess of Sussex - In pictures

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In one extract, the duchess wrote: “Your actions have broken my heart into a million pieces – not simply because you have manufactured such unnecessary and unwarranted pain, but by making the choice to not tell the truth as you are puppeteered in this. Something I will never understand.”

In a preliminary hearing on May 1, Mr Justice Warby struck out parts of Meghan’s claim against the publisher, including allegations that it acted “dishonestly” by leaving out certain passages of the letter.

The judge also struck out allegations that the publisher deliberately “stirred up” issues between Meghan and her father, and that it had an “agenda” of publishing intrusive or offensive stories about her.

Mr Justice Warby said those allegations should not form part of her case at this stage, because they were “irrelevant” to her claim for misuse of private information, copyright infringement and breach of the Data Protection Act.

However, he said those parts of her case may be revived at a later stage, if they are put on a proper legal basis.

The duchess and Prince Harry have stepped back as senior royals
Getty Images

The judge said: “Some of the allegations are struck out as irrelevant to the purpose for which they are pleaded.

“Some are struck out on the further or alternative ground that they are inadequately detailed.

“I have also acted so as to confine the case to what is reasonably necessary and proportionate for the purpose of doing justice between these parties.

“I do not consider that the allegations struck out on that basis go to the ‘heart’ of the case, which at its core concerns the publication of five articles disclosing the words of, and information drawn from, the letter written by the claimant to her father in August 2018.

“Some aspects of the case that I have struck out at this stage may be revived if they are put in proper form.”

The duchess is seeking damages from Associated Newspapers for alleged misuse of private information, copyright infringement and breach of the Data Protection Act.

Meghan has previously said any damages she may be awarded if she wins her case will be donated to an anti-bullying charity.