British judge says Prince Harry’s lawsuit against Daily Mail publisher can go to trial

By JILL LAWLESS
Associated Press

LONDON (AP) — A British judge has ruled that a lawsuit by Prince Harry, Elton John and five other public figures accusing a tabloid publisher of unlawful information-gathering should go to a full trial. The claimants accuse the publisher of the Daily Mail of paying private investigators to bug homes and cars and record phone conversations. They include John’s husband David Furnish and actors Elizabeth Hurley and Sadie Frost. The publisher, Associated Newspapers Ltd., asked the judge to throw out the case. Judge Matthew Nicklin ruled Friday that the case can go ahead because the claims “have a real prospect of succeeding.” The case is one of several lawsuits by Harry, who has made it a personal mission to tame Britain’s tabloid press.