Prince Harry has been told he can continue his unlawful information gathering claims against Associated Newspapers, the publisher of the Daily Mail, a High Court judge has ruled.

Baroness Doreen Lawrence and Sir Elton John were also told they could continue their cases against the publisher.

The trio are among a group of seven high-profile individuals – including David Furnish, Sadie Frost, Liz Hurley and Sir Simon Hughes – who brought legal action against Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL).

They have accused the publisher of allegedly carrying out or commissioning unlawful activities such as hiring private investigators to place listening devices inside cars, “blagging” private records and accessing and recording private phone conversations.

In his ruling on Friday, Mr Justice Nicklin said Associated Newspapers, publisher of the Daily Mail, “has not been able to deliver a ‘knockout blow’ to the claims of any of these claimants”.

He continued: “Fair resolution of any limitation defence…must await trial.”

At a hearing in March, ANL, which “firmly” denies the allegations, asked a judge to rule in its favour without a trial, arguing the legal challenges against it were brought “far too late”.

Adrian Beltrami KC, for ANL, said the group could have used “reasonable diligence” to discover if they had a potential claim before October 2016.

The lawyer said the legal action against it had “no real prospects of succeeding” and was “barred” under a legal period of limitation.

However, lawyers for those bringing the claims said they were “thrown off the scent” and not aware of being targeted, having believed “categorical denials” from ANL over any involvement in unlawful activity.

Harry made a surprise appearance at the Royal Courts of Justice during the four-day hearing, with Sir Elton, Ms Frost and Lady Lawrence also arriving at the London court at times during the preliminary hearing.

MORE FOLLOWS…