MEGHAN Markle is "happy" after she today won a High Court bid to keep secret the identities of five friends who gave an anonymous interview to a US magazine.
The Duchess of Sussex is suing Associated Newspapers (ANL), the publisher of the Mail on Sunday, after a "private" letter she sent to her estranged father Thomas Markle, 76, was revealed.
⚠️ Read our Meghan and Harry blog for the latest news on the Royal couple.
5
She claims publishing the letter was an "invasion of her privacy" but ANL says its existence was already in the public domain after being discussed in an anonymous interview given by five of her pals to People Magazine.
Meghan's lawyers last week applied for the Duchess' friends to remain anonymous as part of the proceedings - something the paper's legal team has opposed.
The 39-year-old says her friends gave the interview without her knowledge, and denies a claim made by ANL that she "caused or permitted" the People article to be published.
And Mr Justice Warby today ruled that the identities of Meghan's friends must remain confidential "in the interests of justice" - saying the decision had been made "for the time being" as one or more of the sources could give evidence during the trial.
He said: “The media invariably maintain that the names of sources should not be disclosed.
"In this case the roles are reversed - the media wants to publicise the names of five sources, while the claimant wishes them to remain confidential."
He then said preparations for the trial - which has not yet had a date set - should now "move forward at a greater pace".
And a source close to Meghan's legal team today said: "The Duchess felt it was necessary to take this step to try and protect her friends—as any of us would—and we’re glad this was clear.
"We are happy that the Judge has agreed to protect these five individuals."
5
5
5
In a written submission to the court, Justin Rushbrooke QC, representing the Duchess, said it would be "cruel irony" for the five friends - referred to as A to E - to be identified in the privacy case.
The High Court heard last week that Friend B had been the ringleader pal who "orchestrated" the explosive magazine interview defending the Duchess.
And in a witness statement to the court, Friend C said she would suffer "intrusion into family life” if she was identified.
In the article published by People in February of last year, the friends spoke out against the bullying Meghan said she has faced, and have only been identified in confidential court documents.
However, Antony White QC, acting for ANL, said the unnamed friends are "important potential witnesses on a key issue".
"Reporting these matters without referring to names would be a heavy curtailment of the media's and the defendant's entitlement to report this case and the public's right to know about it," he said.
"No friend's oral evidence could be fully and properly reported because full reporting might identify her, especially as there has already been media speculation as to their identities."
ANL, publisher of the Mail on Sunday and MailOnline, won the first skirmish in the legal action on May 1, when Mr Justice Warby struck out parts of Meghan's claim.
This included allegations that the publisher acted "dishonestly" by leaving out certain passages of the letter.
Court papers have since shown Meghan has agreed to pay ANL's £67,888 costs for that hearing in full.
No date for the full trial has been set.
Meghan is suing ANL over five articles, two in the MoS and three on MailOnline, which were published in February 2019 and reproduced parts of a handwritten letter she sent to her father in August 2018.
RACE RANT
Moment EastEnders star Katie Jarvis unleashes racist rant in drunken brawl
HELL ON EARTH
'Welder sparked Beirut blast' that killed 100 & was 5th the size of Hiroshima
MUCK NUGGET
Girl, 6, chokes on FACE MASK found 'cooked inside McDonald's chicken nuggets'
HORROR SHOW
Terrifying moment BBC journalist sent flying live on air by Beirut blast
CLEVER BUOY
Boy, 10, survived being swept out to sea by floating on back… like he saw on TV
HIGHEST ALERT
Coronavirus rips through Mojaca infecting dozens in Spanish party resort
The headline on the article read: "Revealed: The letter showing true tragedy of Meghan's rift with a father she says has 'broken her heart into a million pieces'."
The Duchess is seeking damages from ANL for alleged misuse of private information, copyright infringement and breach of the Data Protection Act.
ANL wholly denies the allegations.
5
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiWmh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LnRoZXN1bi5jby51ay9uZXdzLzEyMzE1ODMxL21lZ2hhbi1tYXJrbGUtd2lucy1oaWdoLWNvdXJ0LXNlY3JldC1mcmllbmRzLW5hbWVzL9IBXmh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LnRoZXN1bi5jby51ay9uZXdzLzEyMzE1ODMxL21lZ2hhbi1tYXJrbGUtd2lucy1oaWdoLWNvdXJ0LXNlY3JldC1mcmllbmRzLW5hbWVzL2FtcC8?oc=5
2020-08-05 10:44:02Z
52780975992679
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar