Prince Harry loses battle to get Mail on Sunday defence thrown out in libel case

Prince Harry has lost an attempt to get part of the Mail on Sunday publishers' defence thrown out in a libel case.

The Duke of Sussex has taken Associated Newspapers Ltd (ANL) to the High Court over a February 2022 article detailing his UK security arrangements.

The paper claimed the prince tried to keep a legal battle over his security arrangement in the UK a secret.

The judge said ANL's honest opinion defence had "a real prospect of success and should go forward to trial".

The honest opinion defence refers to the protection of individuals or organisations from being held liable for defamation in cases where statements are made as opinions rather than false statements of fact.