Public Interest Re: Macintyre V Associated Newspapers (Boris Johnson/ Daily Mail)
I would be interested to know if the paper published any of the photos sent by the MP and whether that is a breach of his copyright. However, I think the paper has a reasonable Public Interest defence, simply by quoting from the ruling in the above case.
In a ruling that could redraw the privacy rights of public figures in England and Wales, the court of appeal said: "It is not in dispute that the legitimate public interest in the father's character is an important factor to be weighed in the balance against the claimant's expectation of privacy.
"The core information in this story, namely that the father had an adulterous affair with the mother, deceiving both his wife and the mother's partner and that the claimant, born about nine months later, was likely to be the father's child, was a public interest matter which the electorate was entitled to know when considering his fitness for high public office."
They'll have to go to the Supreme Court to overturn this, so it's going to be long winded and expensive.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
