In the News
Statement on Associated Newspapers court judgement ruling
17th March 2006
On Friday 17th March 2006, the High Court ruled that the Mail on Sunday had breached The Prince of Wales’s copyright and confidence when it published extracts from his private diary of a trip to Hong Kong in 1997.
The court has awarded 80 per cent costs to The Prince of Wales, and damages to be determined at a later hearing. Damages will be donated to The Prince’s Charities Foundation.
The court will rule at a later date on whether seven other of The Prince’s private diaries retained by the Mail on Sunday are also protected by copyright and confidence.
Sir Michael Peat, the Principal Private Secretary to The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall, made a statement on the court judgement:
“I am delighted that all the points of principle argued by our lawyers have been upheld by the Judge. He concluded that Associated Newspapers breached The Prince’s right to confidence, infringed his copyright and could demonstrate no public interest in their disclosures. Bearing in mind that this decision was reached on summary application it is emphatic confirmation of the point of principle which The Prince of Wales sought to maintain – the publication of the stolen private diary was not right or justifiable.
“With respect to the other journals, the Judge said that ‘there is every reason for concluding that the Claimant establishes, as much in relation to the other seven journals as he does in relation to the Hong Kong journal, a reasonable expectation of privacy in respect of their contents’. The Judge has indicated that he would like to read the journals before reaching a final decision. This will entail a short further hearing on points of law. The Prince of Wales will not be required to give evidence. In short, an excellent outcome.”