“This provides the necessary element to make the meanings defamatory at common law.” The senior judge also found that the article did not imply that Harry was “seeking to keep his ‘legal battle’ with the government a secret”, although that was suggested by the headline, if read alone. He continued: “Read as a whole, the article was quite clear that it sought certain confidentiality restrictions in relation to ‘documents and witness statements’ in the proceedings, not blanket secrecy about the entire claim.” The judge found that an ordinary reader would understand the article to mean that Harry had “initially sought confidentiality restrictions which were far-reaching and unreasonably wide and were rightly challenged by the Home Office”. Friday’s ruling related only to the “objective meaning” of the article, Mr Justice Nicklin said, adding that it was the first stage in a libel claim. Friday’s ruling is the first stage in the Duke of Sussex’s defamation claim against Associated Newspapers Limited, with the publisher now filing its defense in the case. Mr Justice Nicklin said in his judgment: “The decision reached in this judgment is solely about the objective meaning of the article published by the defendant for the purposes of the plaintiff’s claim for defamation. “This is very much the first phase in a libel claim. “The next step will be for the defendant to file a defense to the claim. “It will be a matter to be determined later in the proceedings whether the claim succeeds or fails, and if so on what basis.”
