‘Leading businessman’ wins injunction to prevent publication of harassment claims
A “leading businessman” has won an injunction against the Telegraph to prevent it from publishing sexual harassment and racial abuse claims against him.
Five staff who allegedly experienced harassment while working with the figure were silenced with the use of non-disclosure agreements (NDAs), according to the publication.
An eight-month investigation into claims of harassment and bullying by the Telegraph was stopped short by a judge preventing the newspaper from naming the businessman yesterday.
The Court of Appeal’s 20-page ruling on Tuesday – which refers to the businessman only as “ABC” – made it illegal for the Telegraph to publish details of the NDAs, but confirmed that five people had received “substantial payments” under the terms of the settlements.
The Telegraph had argued that publication was in the public interest, but the Court of Appeal ruled against it.
Editor Chris Evans said: "The public have a right to know when the powerful seek to gag the vulnerable."
Seven lawyers represented the unnamed businessman at a cost of £500,000 in legal fees to the law firm Schillings, the Telegraph reported.
Speaking in parliament today, Labour MP Jess Philips said: "It seems that our laws allow rich and powerful men to pretty much do whatever they want as long as they can pay to keep it quiet."
Prime Minister Theresa May did not comment on the claims directly, but said: "Non-disclosure agreements cannot stop people from whistle blowing, but it is clear that some employers are using them unethically."
The government plans to consult on whether regulation of NDAs can be improved to help bosses and staff understand when the legal move was not enforceable.
In its ruling, the Court of Appeals overturned a previous High Court ruling in August that found the publication of the allegations was overwhelmingly in the public interest in the wake of the #MeToo campaign, which started after multiple women broke NDAs to accuse Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein of sexual assault – claims he denies.
Justice Haddon-Cave of the High Court ruled that “in all the circumstances, the public interest in publication outweighs any confidentiality attaching to the information”, the Telegraph said. He also called the claims “reasonably credible”.