Sir Fred Goodwin superinjunction partially lifted by high court

The high court has lifted part of a superinjunction obtained by former RBS chief Sir Fred Goodwin after an extra-martial affair protected by the gagging order was revealed today in the House of Lords.

The injunction was altered in the court today by Mr Justice Tugendhat to allow the media to name Goodwin, but not the woman alleged to have been involved or any other details of the affair.

The original superinjunction, which also prevented the press from calling Goodwin a banker, was obtained against the Sun in March. Sun publisher News Group Newspapers made the application to the high court this afternoon to have part of the injunction lifted.

Associated Newspapers, which publishes the Daily Mail, and Mirror Group Newspapers, which publishes the Mirror, were also reportedly involved in the high court application.

Earlier this afternoon, Liberal Democrat peer Lord Stoneham raised the issue of the injunction in the House of Lords, asking the speaker: "Would he accept that every taxpayer has a direct public interest in the events leading up to the collapse of the Royal Bank of Scotland?

"So how can it be right for a superinjunction to hide the alleged relationship between Sir Fred Goodwin and a senior colleague?"

Stoneham is protected in breaking the superinjunction by parliamentary privilege.

The existence of Goodwin's superinjunction was originally revealed in March by Liberal Democrat MP John Hemming, who tabled a question about it in parliament.

Image by ell brown on Flick. Some rights reserved.

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