LONDON (AP) — An unidentified celebrity lost a bid Tuesday for a U.K. court injunction to block two news organizations from publishing allegations against him.
Lawyers for Independent Television News and the Guardian newspaper's publisher told the High Court last month that the allegations they wanted to publish were about the man's “abuse of power and status” and sexual misconduct involving a number of young women.
The celebrity denies wrongdoing,
according to his lawyer, Sara Mansoori, who said he intended to take his own life if the allegations were published.
Mansoori said the man had made a suicide attempt when he received letters from ITN and Guardian News and Media seeking his response to the allegations. He later made another attempt, and had been examined by more than 10 doctors in relation to his mental health, she said.
The case has drawn widespread attention in Britain because it highlights questions over public figures' right to privacy and what media can report on the basis of public interest.
Gavin Millar, representing the media companies, has said that the allegations were gathered after “a wide-ranging and rigorous investigation” and that there was a “strong” public interest in publishing them.
“The defendants allege that, over a period of years, the claimant used his status and influence as a well-known public figure to establish contact with young women, some considerably younger than him, and that he engaged or sought to engage in seriously inappropriate conduct,” according to a summary of Tuesday's judgment.
Some of the alleged conduct could amount to criminal offenses if proven, it said.
Justice Matthew Nicklin dismissed the man's injunction bid, saying the legal measure would mean “an exceptionally serious interference” with the rights of the media companies.
However, he ruled that the man should remain anonymous to allow him to appeal the ruling.
