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Sir Fred Goodwin 'affair' injunction not lifted | Sir Fred Goodwin 'affair' injunction not lifted |
(40 minutes later) | |
A High Court judge has refused to lift an order banning journalists naming a woman with whom former bank boss Sir Fred Goodwin had an alleged affair. | A High Court judge has refused to lift an order banning journalists naming a woman with whom former bank boss Sir Fred Goodwin had an alleged affair. |
Lawyers from News Group Newspapers - publishers of the News of the World and the Sun - asked Mr Justice Tugendhat to lift the privacy injunction. | |
He refused but said papers could publish details of the woman's job. | |
Sir Fred, a former colleague of the woman, was head of the Royal Bank of Scotland when it collapsed in 2008. | |
At the High Court, Mr Justice Tugendhat ruled that the papers could not identify the woman but said they could publish details of her job description. | |
The exact wording of that job description, however, is subject to further argument between the parties. | The exact wording of that job description, however, is subject to further argument between the parties. |
Hugh Tomlinson QC, representing the woman, said he intended to pursue an appeal about disclosing job details and was granted a stay until 23 June pending an application for permission to the Court of Appeal. | |
Mr Justice Tugendhat said his judgement had not been about keeping secrets but to prevent "intrusion and distress" to the woman concerned. | |
He added that it was particularly important that any job description given for the woman - referred to in court as VBN - should not be so general as to be likely to be understood to refer to any one else. | |
He said VBN's evidence was that she was a private person, with a family, and that publication of her name would be a very serious intrusion into her private and family life. | |
Stifling debate | Stifling debate |
The privacy injunction was imposed earlier this year. | The privacy injunction was imposed earlier this year. |
Last month, Mr Justice Tugendhat lifted a ban preventing journalists saying Sir Fred had the alleged relationship with the woman. | |
His identity was first revealed in the House of Lords, after which News Group newspapers made a court application. The judge then varied a privacy order to allow his name to be published. | His identity was first revealed in the House of Lords, after which News Group newspapers made a court application. The judge then varied a privacy order to allow his name to be published. |
News Group's counsel argued that the ban on revealing the woman's identity was stifling public debate in the aftermath of RBS's collapse. | News Group's counsel argued that the ban on revealing the woman's identity was stifling public debate in the aftermath of RBS's collapse. |
Richard Spearman QC told the judge the matter was "plainly a matter of real, genuine, public interest". | Richard Spearman QC told the judge the matter was "plainly a matter of real, genuine, public interest". |
But Mr Tomlinson, the woman's counsel, said News Group was seeking to build an application on "no foundations at all" and there was no evidence of any public interest. |