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Famous man loses injunction bid to block allegations publication

Summarised from 7 outlets · 11 reports · Updated 3 Nov, 15:46 · Archive

A famous man has lost his High Court bid to prevent two media organisations from publishing allegations against him.

A well-known man has lost his High Court injunction bid against Independent Television News (ITN) and Guardian News and Media (GNM), publisher of The Guardian, seeking to prevent the publication of allegations against him. Mr Justice Nicklin dismissed the injunction on Tuesday. The man cannot yet be named, as anonymity remains in place subject to any appeal.

Lawyers for the media organisations told the High Court during a two-day trial in late October that the allegations involve the man's alleged abuse of his power and status to contact young women and attempt to engage in inappropriate and exploitative sexual activities. The well-known man denies the allegations. According to Metro, journalists had spoken to more than 100 people, including friends, colleagues and women who made allegations.

The man's legal team argued that publication would have a potentially fatal impact, citing his high suicide risk. They told the court he had made two previous suicide attempts since being contacted about the allegations and had spent months receiving hospital treatment for serious mental health problems. His lawyers claimed he was highly likely to attempt suicide if the allegations were published.

The man invoked articles two, three and eight of the European Convention on Human Rights to support his injunction bid, relating to the right to life, protection from inhuman or degrading treatment, and the right to respect for private and family life. Mr Justice Nicklin acknowledged that a decision permitting publication would materially and very substantially increase the man's suicide risk.

However, the judge ruled that conditions did not exist for the court to block publication under those articles. He found that responsibility for protecting the man from harm fell to the state's health services. Since the man is detained under the Mental Health Act 1983 in a psychiatric hospital with direct control over his care, observation, treatment and access to means of self-harm, the judge determined that the hospital could provide significant protection and materially reduce the likelihood of suicide, even if it cannot eliminate the risk.

Mr Justice Nicklin stated in his ruling: The court did not determine whether the allegations, or any of them, were true, and the dismissal of the claim does not amount to approval of any publication the defendants may decide to make. He noted that dismissing the injunction bid would amount to an exceptionally serious interference with freedom of expression if upheld.

The man's anonymity will remain in place to allow him to lodge an appeal against the judgment. The judge warned during proceedings about attempts to identify the man on social media, noting that several different individuals had already been named amid speculation.

Famous man loses injunction bid to block allegations publication
Image: The Independent

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In this story: Independent Television News · Guardian News and Media · Mr Justice Nicklin · High Court · London

This summary was written by AI from the headlines and standfirsts above, and states as fact only what at least two outlets report. How we use AI · Report a problem · Corrections log