A key deadline has been set in the trial of the High Court legal action being brought by Prince Harry and six other household names against the Daily Mail's publisher.
At a hearing on December 18, Mr Justice Nicklin ruled a series of documents must be disclosed and that several other issues must be addressed.
All of this must be completed by January 2, prior to the trial, which is scheduled to begin on January 14, 2026.
The case issued by the Duke of Sussex and six others alleges that Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL) carried out or commissioned unlawful activities, including hiring private investigators to place listening devices in cars, "blagging" private records, and accessing private phone conversations.
Mr Justice Nicklin ruled that a series of documents must be disclosed and that several other issues must be addressed in Prince Harry's legal case | GETTYTRENDING
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ANL "vehemently" denies the "preposterous allegations" and is defending the legal action.
The trial is expected to last nine weeks.
Harry's legal case recently suffered a significant setback after a private investigator raised serious doubts about Baroness Lawrence's claim that the newspapers bugged her.
Baroness Lawrence is part of the group suing ANL.
The case issued by the Duke of Sussex and six others alleges that Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL) carried out or commissioned unlawful activities
| GETTYThe group were dealt a blow after private investigator Jonathan Rees cast doubt over the trial, denying admitting to Ms Lawrence that he was involved in bugging her after the racially motivated murder of her 18-year-old son, Stephen, in 1993.
Speaking to Channel 4's investigation programme Dispatches, Mr Rees discussed the legal case being brought by Ms Lawrence, saying: "They're going to have to rethink that."
The group of seven are set to go to court in a matter of weeks, suing ANL, which has denied the allegations, describing them as "lurid" and "simply preposterous".
Another private investigator, Gavin Burrows, said a witness statement lodged by the prince's legal team was false.
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Harry's legal case was recently dealt a blow
| PAThey claimed Mr Burrows had been involved in bugging and hacking on behalf of ANL, something the private investigator denies, saying his signature was "forged".
Mr Burrows's claims, now retracted, were reportedly key to Harry encouraging Ms Lawrence to join him in the legal action.
In her witness statement, lodged with the court in 2023, she said: "Jonathan Rees confirmed that he had done more things for the Daily Mail… aimed at secretly stealing information about me and the investigations into Stephen's murder."
She claimed that her landline had been interfered with and her voicemails hacked, suggesting she had been subject to "covert electronic surveillance".
Baroness Doreen Lawrence is one of seven people suing the ANL | GETTYQuestioned by Dispatches if he had ever been involved with the Daily Mail, Mr Rees said: "Yes, that is exactly what I'd heard and what I knew was on offer.
"I'd been offered by other agents to assist in this surveillance. But I didn't get involved."
When it was noted that Ms Lawrence's witness statement was "based on your confirmation that you had done the bugging operation", Mr Rees responded: "Right, well they're going to have to rethink that, and their legal team is going to have to re-think that."
Mr Rees, who was convicted in 2000 for conspiring to pervert the course of justice along with a corrupt police officer in an unconnected case, insisted his denial of involvement did not damage Baroness Lawrence's claim against the Mail.
However, although he continued to insist he was aware of surveillance teams employed to spy on the baroness, he continued: "I can't provide any documentary evidence for that."
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