A lawyer for the Mail on Sunday accused Prince Harry of “straitjacketing” the newspaper’s “right to comment” during the pair’s latest libel fight.

Harry is suing Mail on Sunday and Mail Online publisher Associated Newspapers and seeking damages and an injunction over a February 2022 article headlined: “EXCLUSIVE: How Prince Harry tried to keep his legal fight with the government over police bodyguards a SECRET… then – just minutes after the story broke – his PR machine tried to put a positive spin on the dispute.”

In July, High Court judge Mr Justice Nicklin ruled parts of the article were defamatory because they contended Harry intended to mislead the public.