The Daily Mirror today lost its House of Lords bid to change the rules governing “no win, no fee” agreements after it was sent a £594,000 legal bill by supermodel Naomi Campbell’s lawyers.

The model employed solicitors Schillings on a conditional fee basis for her successful privacy challenge against the newspaper in the House of Lords over its coverage of her treatment at Narcotics Anonymous.

Under no win, no fee rules, Schillings was able to charge the Mirror a 100% uplift in its costs - intended as a compensation for the risk of losing.

All five Law Lords dismissed the Mirror’s argument that the size of the success fee infringed rights to free speech.

They said it was up to Parliament to change the rules.

At a hearing in May, Richard Spearman QC, for the newspaper, told the panel of Law Lords that cost claims in no win, no fee cases were now “totally out of control”.

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