Retail tycoon Sir Philip Green’s human rights were not breached when he was named in Parliament as the holder of an injunction against the Telegraph newspaper, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has ruled.
The former Topshop boss previously obtained a court injunction preventing the Telegraph from publishing allegations of misconduct made against him by five ex-employees who had agreed to keep the details of their complaints confidential under non-disclosure agreements.
However, he was named in Parliament as the businessman behind the injunction against the newspaper by Labour peer Lord Hain in October 2018, using parliamentary privilege – which allows members to speak freely and their comments to be reported by the media without fear of being sued.
Sir Philip “categorically” denied any unlawful sexual behaviour.
He brought a complaint to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), alleging that the lack of controls on the use of parliamentary privilege to reveal information which was subject to an injunction breached the right to privacy.
On Tuesday, the ECHR ruled against Green.
Eight judges in Strasbourg considered the case brought by the Monaco-based businessman but, in a unanimous decision, they found that the right to privacy under Article 8 of the convention had not been violated.
A majority of the judges also found that his complaints brought under Article 6, the right to a fair hearing, and Article 13, the right to an effective remedy, were “inadmissible”.
Following the ruling on Tuesday, Lord Hain said: “I’m really pleased that the Strasbourg Court [has] defended parliamentary privilege”.
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