§ Mr. John MorrisTo ask the Attorney-General what is his latest estimate of the total costs that Her Majesty's Government have incurred or are liable for the Wright case and ancillary litigation involving the media; and how much of this has already been disbursed, giving particulars for each case.
§ The Attorney-GeneralThe list of proceedings in connection with the book "Spycatcher", including the litigation against the media in this country and in New Zealand and Hong Kong, with the approximate amount of costs expended to date, is as follows:
Civil Proceedings for Breach of Confidentiality Amount £ Australia: Attorney-General v. Heinemann (Australia) and Wright: 494,500 New Zealand: Attorney-General v. Wellington Newspapers and Others: 74,000 England and Wales: Attorney-General v. Guardian, Observer and Sunday Times: 42,500 Hong Kong: Attorney-General v. South China Morning Post: 1,000 Proceedings for Criminal Contempt of Court Attorney-General v. Independent 15,000 Attorney-General v. Sunday Times (including for injunction to restrain threatened contempt): 750 Sunday; London Daily News; Evening News: 250 I cannot usefully estimate future costs