Celebrity wins ruling barring identification

A celebrity trying to keep his name out of a British tabloid “kiss-and-tell” story has won a supreme court fight with editors.

Supreme court justices say The Sun on Sunday should be barred from revealing the man’s identity.

The man — referred to in court hearings only as PJS — asked for a supreme court ruling after losing fights in lower courts.

Three appeal court judges ruled in April an injunction barring The Sun on Sunday from naming him should be lifted. However, a panel of five supreme court justices has overturned that decision by a four to one majority — and ruled that the injunction should stay. One justice said that there was “no public interest” in publishing “kiss-and-tell” stories “simply because” people were well-known.

The ruling has generated a mixed reaction and legal experts say it will have implications.

Journalists at The Sun on Sunday want to publish an account of the man’s activities. The man argues that he has a right to privacy and has taken legal action.

He had sued News Group Newspapers, which publishes The Sun on Sunday, claiming that publication of information about alleged extramarital activity would be a misuse of private information and a breach of confidence.

Any trial of those claims is likely to be overseen by a high court judge, who could decide to lift the anonymity injunction after analysing all evidence from both sides.

Judges have said the man is in the entertainment business. They say his spouse — named as YMA — is also well-known in the entertainment business and the couple have “young” children.

The Sun on Sunday editors won the first round of the fight over identity in January, when a high court judge refused to impose an injunction barring publication. The man appealed — and two appeal court judges ruled in his favour.

Lawyers for News Group Newspapers then asked three appeal judges to lift the ban after the man’s identity emerged online. They told judges at a court of appeal hearing in London in April that the ban should go because the man had been named in articles abroad — outside the legal jurisdiction of England and Wales. They said the story had been published in an American magazine and the man’s name could be found on the internet. The judges ruled in the newspaper’s favour.

The Supreme Court has come to a different conclusion. Five justices — Lord Neuberger, president of the supreme court, Lady Hale, Lord Mance, Lord Reed, and Lord Toulson — analysed the case. Lord Toulson was in the minority and said he would have discharged the injunction. The thinking of the majority of justices was outlined by Lord Mance in a written ruling: “Publication of the story would infringe privacy rights of PJS, his partner, and their children.”

“There is no public interest (however much it may be of interest to some members of the public) in publishing kiss-and-tell stories or criticisms of private sexual conduct, simply because the persons involved are well-known; and so there is no right to invade privacy by publishing them.

“It is different if the story has some bearing on the performance of a public office or the correction of a misleading public impression cultivated by the person involved... that does not apply here,” said Lord Mance.

Bob Satchwell, executive director of the Society of Editors, said the decision was “disappointing”.

“This is not just about the private lives of celebrities, it is about principles and practicalities. It is wrong that people in England and Wales cannot read in the media of their choice whatever everyone else in the world knows already,” he said.