CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION

Extra-marital sexual relationships - newspaper wishing to publish details - injunction granted to prevent breach of confidenceA v B Plc and Another: QBD (Jack J): 10 September 2001The claimant, a married professional footballer, sought an interlocutory injunction to prohibit the first defendant newspaper from disclosing or publishing any information concerning the sexual relationships which he had had with the second defendant and another woman, and to prohibit any disclosure by those women to anyone with a view to such information being published in the media.Alastair Wilson QC and Stephen Bate for the claimant.

Richard Spearman QC and Victoria Sharp QC for the first defendant.

The second defendant did not appear and was not represented.Held, granting the application, that the law of confidentiality could apply to facts concerning both the existence of sexual relationships and details of sexual activity within those relationships, whether within or outside marriage and whether or not there was an express agreement between the parties to treat the matters as confidential; and that, although the precise ambit of the law's protection would depend on the circumstances of each case, since there was no public interest in the publication of the details and that information was not already in the public domain the claimant was likely to succeed at trial in showing that his Convention right to privacy should prevail over the defendant newspaper's Convention right to freedom of expression; and that, accordingly, the court would exercise its discretion to grant the injunctions sought.