High Court refuses to block publication of allegations against famous man, keeps anonymity pending appeal

The ruling

The High Court in London has refused the man's application for a permanent injunction against ITN and Guardian News and Media, the publisher of The Guardian. Mr Justice Nicklin ruled that the claim for an injunction was denied. He nonetheless kept a temporary injunction in place, which stops the man from being named and stops the allegations from being published. Anonymity and reporting restrictions will remain in force for the period allowed for any appeal. The man denies the allegations against him.

The allegations

The allegations were made by 30 women. Lawyers for the media organisations told the court the claims involve an alleged misuse of influence to approach young women and seek inappropriate and exploitative sexual contact. ITN produces news programmes for ITV, Channel 4, Good Morning Britain and Channel 5, and it is one of the two defendants. ITN and the Guardian argued there is a strong public interest in publishing the claims. The judge has not named the man, and he cannot be identified for now.

The man's argument

His lawyers argued that publication would put his life at risk. He told the court that publication would be highly likely to lead him to take his own life, and he asked for any publication or broadcast to be prevented. The media organisations rejected that argument and maintained that the public interest outweighed it. The judge weighed these competing positions before ruling against the injunction.

Trial and next steps

The two-day trial took place in London in late October, and the judgment followed on 3 November.

The ruling leaves the man anonymous for now, but the articles do not state how long the appeal period will last. Whether the allegations can be published will depend on the outcome of any appeal. The story is still developing, and the articles say it will be updated as more details emerge.