Arcadia owner Philip Green abandons Telegraph ‘gagging order’ action
Retail tycoon Sir Philip Green has abandoned a high-profile gagging order served against The Telegraph newspaper after it sought to report on allegations of sexual and racial harassment levelled against him.
Philip Green abandons Telegraph ‘gagging order’ action / BBC
Green successfully applied to the court of appeal for a temporary news blackout to prevent his identity from being shared or any other ‘confidential information’ pertaining to the case, spiking the papers guns and forcing it to run with a vague front-page story about an anonymous ‘prominent businessman’ instead.
This strategy proved for nought however when former cabinet minister Peter Hain exercised his parliamentary privilege to publicly out Green in the House of Lords just a few days later. Now Arcadia, the business group owned by Green, has announced that it will drop the legal claim which had been expected to go to trial next month.
Outlining their stance in a statement Arcadia wrote: “After careful reflection, Arcadia and Sir Philip have therefore reluctantly concluded that it is pointless to continue with the litigation, which has already been undermined by the deliberate and irresponsible actions of Lord Peter Hain, the paid consultant of the Telegraph’s lawyers Gordon Dadds, and risks causing further distress to Arcadia’s employees.
“Consequently, Arcadia and Sir Philip will be seeking the court’s permission to discontinue these proceedings on Monday.”
The retail group continues to accuse the publisher of enabling the breach of staff confidentiality agreements by ‘harassing’ employees.
In November last year former Topshop brand director, Jane Shepherdson publicly accused Green of being a 'bully'.