Williams’s move to rival paper halted
In court documents it was revealed Mr Williams currently receives an annual salary of €145,000 under a 2006 agreement with the Sunday World, along with additional payments for promotional work.
The newspaper took the action following the announcement that Mr Williams was to move to the rival publication.
Ms Justice Mary Laffoy granted Sunday Newspapers Limited an interim injunction preventing Mr Williams from working for any other publication other than the Sunday World.
The judge made the order following an ex-parte (one side only) application which is returnable for Monday.
Mark Connaughton SC, for Sunday Newspapers, said it was his client’s case that Mr Williams, under the provisions of the National Union of Journalists House Agreement which covered Mr Williams position as crime editor, was obliged to serve a period of three months notice.
The crime editor’s contract was to run from January 2007 and was due to expire on January 12. The court heard that Mr Williams, who has been a journalist with the newspaper since 1988, informed the managing director of the Sunday World, Gerry Lennon, on January 14 last that he did not wish to renew his contract.
Counsel said lawyers acting on Mr Williams’s behalf claimed notice did not arise because it argued he was working under a fixed term contract which had expired earlier this week and was entitled to move to another publication.
Mr Connaughton said Mr Williams was not working under a fixed term contract and his communication with Mr Lennon in October did not amount to giving notice.
The Sunday World will pay Mr Williams his full salary over the period of notice, counsel added.
In an affidavit to the court Mr Lennon said he was taken aback by Mr Williams’s decision to leave the Sunday World and at no time did he receive notice from him. He said Mr Williams sent him an email saying that leaving the Sunday World was “the hardest decision” he had ever made, and Mr Williams also paid tribute to the staff at the paper.
A statement had been issued by the News of the World stating that Mr Williams would be moving to the paper. The decision of Mr William to leave the newspaper would cause immeasurable damage to sales of the Sunday World, claimed Mr Lennon.
In addition, Mr Lennon said that the Sunday World plans its advertisement campaign over a period of three to six months in advance.
Over the next three months Mr Williams was to be involved in six to seven key television adverts in a campaign which is already in place.
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