Newspaper bids to overturn UK sex case gagging order

Updated

A newspaper has launched a bid to overturn a privacy injunction preventing the media from reporting on a celebrity's "extramarital activities".

It was confirmed on Tuesday by a spokesman for the judiciary that the Court of Appeal in London has received an application to discharge the order.

The application is currently being processed by the court and no date has yet been set for a hearing.

The identity of the man, who is "well-known" and has children with his partner, also in the entertainment business, has already been revealed in a US publication and in Scotland.

But an injunction granted by the Court of Appeal prevents the UK press revealing the identity of the man, who was involved in a "three-way sexual encounter".

The Sun on Sunday had wanted to publish an account of the man's "sexual exploits" with others - but two senior judges barred the tabloid from revealing the man's "extramarital activities".

In the Court of Appeal's ruling, made on January 22, Lord Justice Jackson said both the man, referred to as PJS, and his spouse, YMA, disputed that "publication of the story would serve any public interest".

The judge said publishing the story would be "devastating" for the man and would "generate a media storm" - saying the couple's children would become the subject of increased press attention.

Lord Justice Jackson revealed that the man had appealed after a High Court judge refused to grant him an injunction against publishers News Group Newspapers.

He said he and Lady Justice King had decided to allow his appeal after balancing the man's human right to respect for family life and the newspaper's right to freedom of expression.

The Sun On Sunday had argued that publication of the story would contribute to on-going debate.

They also said the man and YMA had put "many details of their relationship" into the public domain.

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